Kitsune King
by Baron von Nobody
Summary: Progress will never happen unless change happens. Change will not happen unless one is willing to change. Watch the story of a young kitsune as he grows to become great, as he grows to become... Kitsune King. Warning, Bit of Character OOC, AU.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Journey to the West.

Normal Talk ""

**Great Beast/Great Demon Talk ""**

**_Celestial Being Talk ""_**

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**Prologue**

A man stood atop of a great mountain, six magatama beads adorning his neck. Looking down, he then smiled, as he saw a small rock. He picked up the small rock, then blew his breathe on it. He then whispered, **_"Progress will never happen unless change happens. Change will not happen unless one is willing to change. Become the change this world needs so desperately. Bring progress and inspiration to this world of darkness."_** He then set the stone back on the ground, before disappearing in flashes of celestial light, and blurs of wind and clouds.

Now, the simple stone lay atop of the great mountain. By appearance, there was nothing special about the stone, at least for the moment, but the mountain was located in a grand place, what is today known as _Hoa Quả Son_, the mountain of flowers and fruit. A storm made from the primal forces of chaos and elements raged around the stone, shaping it, forming it, smoothing out the rough edges.

When the storm ceased, all was calm, sunlight shining down on the mountain, bringing light back to the area. The stone was now in the shape of a large egg, as smooth as one as well. All day, the egg-shaped stone stood, as still as rock, until night fall came.

Underneath the light of the full moon, the egg-shaped stone began to shift, rocking back and forth, from side to side. It then began to roll down the mountain side, landing in a slow current stream. It floated down the stream until it washed up on the banks of a small lake in front of a waterfall, the moon shining down on the area.

The egg-shaped stone rolled itself in front of the waterfall, and then stopped moving all together. From behind the waterfall, a litter of fox kits began to shyly step out, curious about the egg. The litter varied in colors, grey, black, and white furs. The kits approached the egg, and then jumped back when it wobbled a bit more.

Out from behind the waterfall, a large red-furred kitsune stepped out, seven orange-tipped tails swaying from behind it. She moved closer to the egg, staring at it calmly.

"What is it, mama?" One of the kits asked in their own fox tongue.

"It is an egg, my child!" The kitsune mother said tenderly with love and care.

"What kind of egg is it?" One asked. "Can we eat it?" Another asked. "Looks kinda funny!" One commented.

The egg then began to rattle, shaking violently as it did. All but one of the kits yelped and panicked, hiding behind their mother, peeking from behind her seven tails. The one that didn't panic was a young female kit with white fur, and plum colored eyes. She moved closer to the egg, curious of what was inside.

Cracks began to form on the egg, something inside trying to break free. The stone egg instantly shattered, revealing a young fox with fiery red-orange fur, falling over, rolling on its back. The red fox moved towards the young fox, her grey eyes looking it straight in the face, the kit's small eyes shut tight. It then began to open its small eyes, blinking once, then twice, revealing two shining sapphire blue eyes.

It then began to look around, spotting the white furred, plum-eyed kit, staring at the fox in amazement. It then began to try to stand on all four of its legs, shaking wobbly from the first time use. It stood on all fours, and then began stumbling towards her. It tripped on its own legs, almost falling forward, but was caught and supported by the red kitsune mother.

It stared up at her, looking deep into her eyes, seeing only love in the vastness of those eyes. He then tried to stand yet again, and then continued to stumble forward, not wanting to give up.

The kitsune watched with amazement on how tenacious the little one was. "You sure do not know when to give up, do you little one?" She asked sweetly, walking next to it just in case it fell again. In appearance, the red fox was about the same age as the mother's kits, it also had a slight tinge of yellow at the end of its red fur.

"You certainly are a strange one!" She chuckled out.

She picked it up by the scruff of its neck, and then set it in front of the plum-eyed kit. The plum-eyed kit looked at the strange fox, and then she blushed when it began to sniff at her a bit. The other kits began to come over, seeing the fox as no threat, then began to crowd around it. The mother kitsune smiled at the sight of her kit's curiosity, but then tensed at the presence of someone coming.

"My, my, my. What do we have here my dear Kushina?" Stepping out of the shadows appeared a black fox with six tails, missing a front right arm, a scar running down its right eye, and an X-shaped scar under its bottom jaw. It was addressing the red kitsune calmly, looking to the fiery red fox suspiciously.

She looked to the black scarred fox angrily, losing the gentle composure she had earlier. "Danzo! This does not concern you!" She growled out.

"I beg to differ, my dear." He continued on calmly. "I can sense what that kit truly is, as can you."

Kushina, the red furred kitsune, gently nuzzled all of the kits back into the den behind the waterfall, the fiery red fox staying behind her. She then glared straight back at Danzo, her fur standing on end. "I wish to have this kit as my own, regardless of what he is!" She growled out.

Danzo stared at her seriously, his lone eye shifting between Kushina and the young fox. "Kushina, if you raise him, he will only bring you suffering. After all, he is a demon." He tried to reason, glaring angrily at the fiery red fox. "I say that we execute the demon before it's too late."

"He has done nothing wrong! I care not what will happen, I will take full responsibility for him!" Kushina growled out, almost pleading Danzo.

"Humph. Let's let the council make that decision." He then lifted his head toward the sky, and then began to yelp out loud continuously, loud enough to be heard for miles. All of sudden, shadows began to appear, revealing themselves to be foxes and kitsune of different shades of colors and breeds, all of them with five tails or more.

At the top of the mountaintop appeared a giant fox, three times the size of a bear, with fiery red fur, nine tails swaying in different directions, two smaller foxes covered in armor at both his sides.

His blood red eyes looked to Danzo, the one who summoned them. "**Danzo, why have you summoned us?**" He bellowed out.

Danzo politely bowed, then answered. "Great Kyuubi, council of elders, I have summoned you here to judge this demon born from chaos. Kushina wishes to spare this, 'abomination', but I say to eliminate it, to prevent it from plaguing us with the wrath of the heavens."

Kushina instantly argued back, "This kit has done nothing wrong! All it has done is but exist. Please great Kyuubi; allow me the chance to raise it as one of my own! If allowed to raise it, I will make sure it grows to be a creature of good virtue! Please, I plead to you!"

The council began to whisper among themselves, showing how they disagreed with what Kushina said.

"**ENOUGH!**" Kyuubi yelled, catching all the kitsune attention, silencing them. "**You all seem to forget that at one time, I was once one of the Tailed Beasts, horrible monsters bent on destruction. Yet, when I returned to my sanity, you all forgave my cruel actions.**"

"That is true, great one! But you were not born a demon, you were originally a fox!" Shouted a

grey furred fox with eight tales, and aged looking features.

"Homura is right, great one! If we let this, 'thing,' continue to live, we may come to regret it later on! It must be '_taken_' care of!" Shouted out a grey-furred female kitsune, who also had eight tales and aged features.

"KOHARU! You can't be serious!" Kushina roared out, slightly angry at her words. "Please, great one, let this kit live! Look at him! He is ignorant to his own plight!" The young fox was currently pawing at Kushina's tails, "If raised appropriately, he could grow to be a great fox! Maybe even become one of Inari's messengers! Please, just spare him!"

"**I am afraid, Kushina, that it seems it is not up to me, but to the decision of the council!**" He bellowed out, a sad expression crossing his features. "**It is time to decide the kit's fate!**" He bellowed to all the council members, all of them whispering among themselves.

When the whispers stopped, the two guard foxes ran to each of the council members, receiving their answers. They returned to the great Kyuubi, whispering into his ears the council's collective answers.

He sighed, and then spoke with firm sadness in his voice. "**The council has decided! The kit shall be put... to death!**"

Kushina began to hover over the young fox, shielding it with her own body from all the other foxes, snarling at any that came close. The other kitsunes were closing in, when all of a sudden; a bright flash of light and smoke appeared in between the crowd of foxes and Kushina.

"_**Hey! Don't I have a say in this?!**_" Said a human looking man with blonde spiky hair, blue eyes, a fiery whip at his side, and two bags of rice strapped to his belt, a fox mask on the side of his head, and a white cloak with flames at the bottom trim of it.

"**Minato the Inari!**" Kyuubi yelled in surprise, bowing before the man. All the other foxes, except the young kit which was still playing, bowed to the man as well. "**What brings you here to honor us with your presence, master?**"

"_**I have come to see this so called demon that plagues my messengers with fear!**_" He stated sarcastically. "_**Where is this demon? I wish to see it and vanquish it, so that it won't ravage the lands ever again!**_" He began to dramatically move his arms up and down, left and right, his voice slightly in a silly overdramatic tone.

He looked over to Kushina, who was bowing in fear that he would do well on his word, the young fiery fox still swatting at her tails.

Minato walked casually over to the young fox, putting his hand gently underneath his frontal legs, and then lifting him up to view. "_**Is this the demon I heard about?**_" He looked the fox straight in the eyes, its features looking as if it was smiling at him. Minato then began to look the fox over, looking all over the fox's body, even noticing what gender it was.

"_**It's a boy!**_" He comically announced. The fox then licked him on the nose, showing affection to him. Minato chuckled at this gesture. He then turned to face the council, and the great Kyuubi, raising the fox above his head.

"_**This fox will grow to do great things!**_" He said a smirk on his face. "_**For now, you shall be named...**_" He paused for a moment, considering the young one's name. "_**You shall be named...**_" He repeated again, still trying to think of a name. Then, his face then brightened, thinking up a name suitable to the young one. "_**Ishi no Kitsune!**_" He yelled out dramatically, causing some of the foxes to look at him weirdly, or sweat in embarrassment.

"**Stone Fox, sir?**" The great Kyuubi questioned.

"_**Yes. He was born from stone, and he's a fox! Good name, huh?**_" He asked with grin. His face then became elderly serious. "_**I expect him to achieve great things in the future.**_" He said with an air of sagely wisdom. "_**He is forbidden to be harmed by any of my servants, this I decree. Little one, no harm will come to you from any fox except from Kushina, who shall act as a mother to you, and shall only do so as a punishment for your misdeeds. This I promise!**_" He cried out to all of the foxes, staring down at the young fox. "_**And I never go back on my promises, young one.**_" He whispered to the young fox.

As Minato held Ishi in the air, a yellowish fluid began to rain down on Minato's head. With a look of both embarrassment, and disgust, Minato gently placed the fox down next to Kushina, who looked up to him in surprise, as well as the counsel. Minato began to calmly wipe himself off, slight disgust still on his face.

When he had finished, he looked to Kushina, then said, "_**Take good care of him, Kushina. I leave him to you.**_" He then turned to face the rest of the council, all of who were shocked by these events. "_**As for the rest of you, return to your homes. This event no longer concerns you! I other words, Get LOST!**_" He said, still a bit embarrassed about being leaked on.

The council then began to leave, returning to their homes before invoking Minato's wrath. Minato then turned to Kushina one last time, looking her straight in the eyes.

"_**Well! I am off! I have to go help a blacksmith forge a sword named Little Fox! Gee, how ironic.**_" He mused to himself. "_**Farewell and congratulations on your new kit!**_" He then vanished with the wind and clouds, leaving Kushina alone with the young fox.

She looked down at the little fox as it curled up next to her. "Ishi, huh? From now on, you will be called Ishi."

It stares up at her, as if trying to understand her words. "Ish-ish!" It tried to pronounce its name, unable to sound the words properly.

"That's right, little one!" She said, nuzzling the young fox's stomach. "And you can call me mother!"

"Ma ma, mama!" It said, licking her in the face, affectionately. Kushina then grabbed Ishi by the gruff of his neck, carrying him to the cave behind the waterfall.

Up in the air, watching the events take place, was a young man dressed in purple ninja garments, platinum hair tied in a pony tail, a pair of spectacle glasses over his eyes, purple bat-like wings on his back, and a purple arrow-headed tail swinging about.

"Hmm. A very interesting turn of events!" He stated while adjusting his glasses, a smirk adorning his face.

* * *

In a dark realm, in a frightening looking castle, what the leather winged man was seeing was being displayed on a mirror in the throne room of the castle. In the room were shadowy figures of different shaped monstrosities, and in the center, in a royal chair, was a pale serpent-like man with black hair, yellow serpent-like eyes with purple eyeliner around the edges, and a black and white kimono. The man was smiling as he watched the events in the mirror.

"**Very interesting indeed, Kabuto! Kukukukuku!**" His snickering sounded like hissing. "**The young one has potential! Plus, he has an innocent mind, making it very malleable to the wickedness of the world! Kukuku!**" As he snickered, the shadows in the throne room joined in and laughed as well. He then called out to the crowd, as if he was making a speech. "**I am Orichimaru! My wish is the downfall of the Great Sage and his teachings! And how do we intend to do that, my minions?**"

The shadows cheered loudly for the snake man, named Orichimaru, answering his question in unison. "With Pain, Anger, Pride, Envy, Lust, Greed, and Gluttony!"

"**Kukuku! Yes, that is correct my minions. Humans are so easily manipulated. It won't be long before this world plunges into pure, utterly beautiful darkness!**"

At that moment, all the horrendous monstrosities in the chamber began cheering, roaring, and howling in victory, going into a wild frenzy.

Orichimaru then turned to the mirror, and then began to speak to it. "**Kabuto, keep an eye on the fox and try to bring him to the side of darkness! He may be useful to me later on! Kukuku!**"

The leather-winged man known as Kabuto continued to stare down at the cave, and then gave his own evil smirk. "As you wish, Lord Orichimaru!" Then he cloaked his wings over his body, disappearing into the shadows.

**End of prologue**

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Hello everyone, this Baron von Nobody again. May I state now, that I haven't read Journey to the West, though I wish I had. So this story will not be very accurate, and will mostly be a written by ear. I hope you all will like this story.

Please Review.

Signed,

Mr. Nobody


	2. The Promise of Greatness

**Kitsune King- Naruto**

**Chapter 1- The Promise of Greatness**

**Seven years later.**

It was a sunny spring day by the waterfall, the birds were chirping, the flowers blooming, and the young foxes were playing. The young foxes were chasing butterflies, wrestle each other, playing tag, and other types of games. There were only two foxes that did not play with the others.

One was an older Ishi, sitting atop a hillside, looking at the scenery, the other, was the plum-eyed fox, who was staring at Ishi from behind a tree.

'I am soo bored!' Ishi angrily thought to himself. He then looked to the other foxes playing, and then looked back to the scenery in front of him. 'There has got to be something more than this.'

"Ishi!" A voice called out. Ishi looked behind him, delighted to see his mother, Kushina, walking towards him.

"Mother!" He called out, running to meet her.

"Ishi, why are you not playing with your brothers and sisters?" Kushina asked.

"Every time I join in on a game, I always end up winning! They then get upset with me!" Ishi responded, slightly upset.

"Have you tried losing on purpose?" Kushina asked, slightly chuckling.

"I never lose on purpose, for that would be an insult to my opponent and to me!" The young fox boasted. "But they get upset at me for always winning. It's not like I rub it in their faces. So instead of making them upset, I choose not to play."

"Someone will always get upset at losing, Ishi! What matters is how 'you' will handle winning or losing. Don't be afraid to do something you like because it will make someone upset." Kushina said with motherly wisdom.

"It's not just that it will make them upset. It's the games are not challenging enough for me.

They've become boring to me." Ishi complained.

"Well Ishi, if you are bored, I could show you something very interesting, if you want me to?" Kushina gently asked.

"Really mom?! You mean it?!" Ishi asked excitedly.

"But you must not tell anyone about what I am about to show you." She said very seriously.

"Ok!" Ishi said happily.

Kushina then took Ishi to the cave, making sure no one was around to see them. They walked all the way to the back of the cave, which was very dark. Ishi looked back and forth, seeing nothing but the back wall.

"Mom, there's nothing here." Ishi stated, slightly confused. "All I see is the back of the wall."

Kushina smirked, and then stated, "Sometimes, Ishi, you must look beyond what you see."

Kushina then moved to the end wall, placing her paw on the wall. All of sudden, the portion of the wall she pressed moved inwards, and then the ground began to shake. Two torches lit up, and then the wall in front of them began to rise up, revealing a hidden room.

"Whoa! Mom, what is this?" Ishi asked.

Inside the room, shelves of scrolls lined the walls, torches lighting the area down the middle.

Kushina then began to speak. "When a fox lives for over two hundred years, they gain a second tail. When they live for three hundred years, they gain a third. After that, the Inari provides the fox with magic scrolls containing spells, believing they are wise enough and worthy to learn magic."

"What for?" Ishi asked, still slightly confused.

Kushina continued. "For when they become Inari messengers. An Inari Kitsune is required to know magic to help carry out their missions for any situation."

"What kind of magic?" Ishi asked.

"We can learn many things, but the ones we are most famous and infamous for is possession and transformation!" Kushina stated.

"What are those?" Ishi curiously asked.

"Possession is when we enter into someone's body allowing us to control them." Kushina said.

"That one sounds kind of disturbing, mom." Ishi stated, shivering a bit from the thought of someone entering his body through the mouth.

Kushina chuckled a bit, and then continued her lesson. "And transformation is the ability to change into anything you want. You could turn into birds, fish, humans, and even a tree."

"Wow!" Ishi liked the sound of looking like anything he wanted, imagining himself looking like the great Kyuubi. "I can't wait till I learn that one!"

"You will have to wait, Ishi. A young kitsune can only be allowed to learn when they have matured." Kushina stated calmly.

"Aww! But I want to learn now!" Ishi complained.

"Now that's enough. You will learn when you are ready." Kushina said sternly but calmly. She then pressed the switch again, causing the secret door to close. "Now remember, do not tell anyone." She said sternly.

"Yes, mom!" Ishi whined, still upset that he couldn't learn the magic now. But when he got out of the cave, he then yelled out to the mountain, "I'm gonna become the greatest kitsune ever known! Believe it!" This caused Kushina to chuckle from his outburst.

* * *

A little later, Ishi was walking through an orchard field of fruits, looking for something.

"Kabuto!" He called out. "Kabuto! Where are you?" He cried again.

He continued to look around, until an apple dropped on his head.

**THUNK! **"Ow!" He cried out.

"Hehehe! They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away! But I guess you contradict that saying, Ishi!" Said a young man with wings and glasses standing on a tree branch, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"That's not funny, Kabuto!" Ishi yelled out, baring his teeth.

Kabuto then floated off the tree, and then landed in front of Ishi, patting him on the head. "Lighten up. I was just kidding with you." He said politely. He then smirked, and then with glint in his eyes, he said, "So, your mom showed you the kitsune scrolls of magic. That must be impressive."

"H-how did you know about that?!" Ishi cried out.

"Relax, I won't tell anyone." Kabuto held his hands up reassuringly. "I was watching you as your mom took you into the cave. So you really think you can become the greatest fox ever known, eh?" He said with a sneer.

"I don't just think, I know!" Ishi stated proudly.

"Then wouldn't it be great if you learned to do magic early?" Kabuto said, slightly smiling.

"It would be great, but mom said I'm not supposed to learn until I have matured." Ishi said sadly.

"Really, I thought her exact words were 'you will learn when you are ready,' you seem ready to me!" Kabuto stated.

"But if I try to learn spells, mom would see me doing it! Then I would get into trouble!" Ishi cried out.

"Then just take one scroll, bring it here to the orchards, practice one spell for a bit, then sneak it back in before it is missed. No one, but you and I, come to these orchards during the morning times. You just got to make sure you don't get caught. It will be our little secret." Kabuto persuaded.

"Hey, you're right! Thanks Kabuto!" Ishi then ran off, planning on a scheme to get the scroll with the spell he wanted.

Kabuto then smirked a bit. "All according to plan." He whispered to himself, and then chuckled lightly as to not draw any attention.

* * *

The next day, while all the kits were playing, Ishi sat on his spot on the hillside. Kushina looked to him, then decided to leave him be. "I'm going off to get something to eat, everyone; I'll be back in a bit!" Kushina called out. In a display of agility and grace, she jumped into the air, and then vanished in blur of speed.

The moment Kushina left, Ishi then began to move toward the cave. 'Step one of my brilliant scheme is complete!' He thought to himself. 'Now time for step two. Sneak in the cave, make sure no one's watching, then 'borrow' the scroll, then move on to step three! Practice a spell, and then try to master it, becoming a super fox! Believe it!' He smirked to himself at the excitement of learning something amazing.

He reached the back of the cave, and then pressed the wall switch to the secret room. The wall opened up, and then Ishi walked inside, looking for the specific scroll.

"Now to find that scroll of transformation." He said to himself. All of sudden, like magic, a scroll floated down to him right off the shelf. "Great! This must be it!" He grasped the scroll in his mouth, ran out of the room, and then closed the secret door. He then snuck over to the orchard area, trying not to be spotted.

What he didn't realize was the plum-eyed fox had seen the whole thing, then, she decided to follow after him while remaining hidden. 'What should I do?' The plum-eyed fox thought to herself. 'If I tell mother, she will be angry with Ishi, and he will get upset at me!' She then began to think really hard. 'But if don't tell, something bad might happen to him! What to do? What to do?' She then made her decision, beginning to run off.

* * *

Ishi arrived at the orchards to try out the spell, calling out to Kabuto, looking for him.

"Kabuto! Kabuto! I got it! I got it!" Ishi cried out excitedly.

"Shh! Quiet! You might catch someone's attention." Kabuto whispered.

"Oh right. Sorry!" Ishi said, chuckling a bit.

"So you ready to practice?" Kabuto asked.

"Yea! Believe it!" Ishi yelled out. He then began to open up the small scroll, flattening out the paper completely for him to see. He then began to look it over.

"So? What does it say to do?" Kabuto asked.

"Ahh! Oh no!" Ishi cried out.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Kabuto asked a little surprised.

"I can't read..." Ishi dead-panned.

Kabuto stared at him, slightly twitching in one eye. "Perhaps, I could read it to you." Kabuto stated, slightly annoyed.

After a bit of being read to, Ishi finally learned the steps required for a transformation. "Ok, let's see if I can do it!" He said, getting himself ready for the spell.

"Ok, first, I have to visualize what I want to turn into!" He closed his eyes to focus. "Then, I have to focus on the image. Next, I put my paws together while still focusing on the image." He put his paws together. "Transform!" he yelled out. All of sudden, a poof of smoke appeared around Ishi.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed a chubby chibi Kabuto with rounded wings, paws for hands and feet, whiskers on the cheeks, and a fuzzy arrow-head tail.

"Ishi, is that supposed to be me?" Kabuto asked, again twitching in the same eye.

"Yeah! How do I look?" Ishi asked, excited.

"I think you should practice changing into something similar to you first." Kabuto said with a forced smile, eye still twitching.

Ishi then sulked, poof back into his normal form. "Yea, I guess you're right. Oh I know!" Ishi then began to concentrate again, and then clapped his paws together again. Another puff of smoke appeared, and when the smoke dispersed, a small red fox with three tails appeared.

"Uh, Ishi? What are you supposed to be now?" Kabuto asked, slightly confused.

"I'm supposed to be my mom! How do I look?" He asked.

"The look is fine this time, but the size and the number of tails are all wrong." Kabuto then looked over head, seeing the sun close to high noon. "I think now that you have learned the transformation spell, you should probably put the scroll back before your mom returns home. Practice on the spell a bit more in secret later."

"Good idea, Kabuto! I'll see you later! Bye!" Ishi then speed off to return the scroll.

As Kabuto waved goodbye, he gave another evil smirk. "One drop can eventually become a sea."

He whispered to himself. "Especially when it comes to evil deeds. Hehehe."

* * *

Ishi snuck into the cave, scroll in his mouth. "Good. Mom's not home yet." He whispered to himself. He went to the back wall, pressed button, ready to return the scroll. The moment the wall opened though, Kushina was standing there waiting for him, an angry expression on her face.

"And what exactly were you doing with one of my scrolls, Ishi?" She asked sternly.

"MOM? What are you doing in there?" Ishi asked, slightly panicked.

"I could ask you the same thing, but, it seems the scroll in your mouth says enough." Kushina stood over Ishi, looking straight down at him in anger.

Ishi then tried to explain himself. "But mom..."

"I don't know what hurts more, the fact that you disobeyed me, or the fact that you borrowed my scroll without my permission!" Kushina angrily interrupted, tears at the edge of her eyes. "I had believed you were mature enough to wait for me to teach you myself. But it seems I was wrong."

Ishi then realized that 'he' actually hurt his own mother, not physically, but emotionally. "Mom, I… I'm sorry..." He sincerely tried to apologies.

"Ishi, you have lost my trust, and that is going to be very hard to regain!" Kushina snapped, tears beginning to pore over. "Ishi, return the scroll to its shelf." She said, trying to regain her composure.

Not wanting to hesitate, Ishi placed the scroll back, very downcast. He then walked back to his mother, tears beginning to form in his own eyes.

"I will have to punish you, my son." Kushina instantly grabbed Ishi gently by the tail, carrying him away from the secret room.

After Ishi's physical punishment, Ishi spent the rest of the day in the cave, head dug into his bushy tail. When Kushina came in, she passed by Ishi, looking him over. She was about to move on, when she heard a sound, barely above a whisper. "Mom, I'm sorry..." he said. She went back over to the young fox, and then affectionately nuzzled her nose into his head.

"I swear, once I regain your trust, I will never lose it again!" Ishi tearfully swore, turning around to nuzzle his mother. "And I, Ishi no Kitsune, never go back on my promises."

"Then I forgive you, my son." Kushina said calmly. "Hey, how about this, if you promise not to practice anymore fox spells until you have my consent, then once you regain my trust, I will show you how to properly perform a transformation. Especially since you were horrible at turning into me!" She said more light heartedly.

"You saw the whole thing?!" Ishi asked, slightly surprised.

"Not everything, just you by yourself trying to transform into me." Kushina said.

Ishi was about to say, 'but I wasn't by myself,' but then remembered that only he could see Kabuto for some strange reason.

"When you gain my trust back, then I shall tell you and show you how to properly transform, ok?" Kushina asked.

"Ok then! And when you show me how to properly transform, I will master it in a week." Ishi boasted.

"A week you say? That's a very bold statement, Ishi!" Kushina chuckled.

"I say it, because it's true!" Ishi said boastfully again.

"To be honest, though, I was going to teach you that spell anyway so you could practice it, and not get bored. Buuuut, I guess you'll have to wait till you gain my trust back. Oh well!" Kushina said slyly.

'She was going to teach me the whole time, curse my impatience!' Ishi screamed in his head.

All of a sudden, the plum-eyed fox walked in on them, nervously looking down. "Um, uh? Excuse me." The plum-eyed fox mumbled.

"Oh! Hinata! What is it? Please speak up, dear!" Kushina said to the plum-eyed fox.

"Um, I… I was wondering i-if I could talk with Ishi alone." Hinata stuttered, very nervous looking.

"Hinata, don't be so nervous. Yes, you can talk with him alone. Just, try not to stutter." Kushina said calmly.

"Oh, ok. Thank you mother." Hinata almost mumbled.

Kushina then left the two foxes alone, respecting Hinata's wishes. Hinata stepped closer to Ishi, very timidly and nervous looking.

"So! What do want to talk about, Hinata?" Ishi asked curiously.

She bowed her head in sadness. "Ishi, um, I was... the one who... told mom on you... I'm really sorry." She apologized, and then bowed her head down to the floor, avoiding his eye contact.

"Please forgive me!" She tried to yell out.

Ishi sighed. "There's nothing to forgive. I was the one who was being an idiot. But thanks for telling me! That shows you got guts for doing that!" Ishi complimented.

"Th-thank you Ishi." Hinata said, trying to look him straight in the eyes. When she finally looked him in the eyes, she saw his fox-like grin, smiling at her. All of sudden, she fainted right there in front of him. "Um, Mom. Hinata fainted again!" Ishi called.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, Kabuto floated, watching the whole scene. "Well, I guess that drop of water dried up before it could land. Oh well! Plenty of other opportunities for evil. Hehehe!" He then disappeared in the shadows of his wings, chuckling as he did.

* * *

**Two months later.**

After Ishi had finally gained his mother's trust back, Kushina taught him the proper way of transformation. To do it properly, not only would you need to focus on the image, but on its features as well, down to great detail; height, weight, color, all of it.

Even though Ishi had a hard time at first with the transformation, he was able to master it within a week, as he proclaimed. Afterwards, he spent a month and half trying out different transformations, changing into whatever he wanted, improving his skill with the transformations.

Now, Ishi was showing off his ability to Kabuto in the orchard fields, Hinata still spying on him. Hinata would spy on Ishi everywhere he went, not because she was making sure he did something wrong, but to just watch him, to admire him, for she secretly held a crush on him.

"Check this out, Kabuto!" Ishi cried out. "I can transform without having to focus to hard now!" Ishi demonstrated by turning himself into an exact replica of Kabuto.

"Nicely done, Ishi!" Kabuto complimented.

Hinata was wondering why Ishi turned himself into that form, until Kabuto appeared to her eyes, still standing next to Ishi. "Gasp! Who is that talking to Ishi?" She whispered to herself. "Could that be Ishi's imaginary friend, Kabuto?" She asked herself.

Ishi way back when claimed Kabuto was his friend, but since no one else could see Kabuto, everyone wrote it off as an imaginary friend created from Ishi's boredom.

The only reason why Hinata could see Kabuto now was because Ishi transformed into Kabuto, thus showing what he looked like, thus allowing her to see him as well. Only those Kabuto wants to be seen by or those who know what he looks like can see him.

"Your transformation spell has come along greatly." Kabuto stated.

"Yeah, thanks to mom teaching me, I was able to master it in no time!" Ishi boasted.

"So, are you going to learn anymore of the fox spells?" Kabuto asked, hoping to get him to do another bad deed.

"I can't! I made a promise and Ishi no Kitsune never breaks his promise!" He yelled out boastfully.

"I understand." Kabuto said, hiding his disappointment. Then, like a light bulb, he thought of an idea. "Have you thought of trying to shape-shift into a human?" Kabuto asked slyly.

"No, not really. The only thing close to one was probably turning into you!" Ishi admitted solemnly. "Why you ask?"

"Well, I was thinking that if you could turn into a human, you could sneak into a human village and pull pranks on them like how some foxes do." Kabuto implied.

"But I never have been to a human village before. What's it like?" Ishi asked curiously.

Kabuto smiled at catching him with the bait. 'Hook, line, and sinker!' He thought to himself. "It's actually quite hard to explain. To be honest, you would have to have been there yourself to know what it's like." Kabuto said, beginning to peak Ishi's interest and curiosity.

"Wow! I'd sure like to see what it's like! Though I'm not sure if pulling pranks on humans would be my thing." Ishi stated.

"What, are you kidding me? Foxes are experts at pulling pranks!" Kabuto said excitedly. "I was just thinking since you wanted to be the greatest fox ever known, you might want to practice on a non-magic fox trait, since your mom forbade you from practicing anymore fox magic." Kabuto pointed out.

"That's a great idea Kabuto! I'll go ask mom if I could go to the human village!" Ishi yelled out excitedly.

"But, what if she says no?" Kabuto asked.

"Then I'll keep asking until she says yes!" Ishi boasted out. "Later Kabuto!" Ishi then left Kabuto alone in the orchard.

"That fox is just too honest for his own good. I'll have to fix that later on." He said to himself, not noticing Hinata listening in on him. Hinata then ran off to try and warn Ishi, and stop his plan before Ishi got into trouble.

Ishi noticed there was dark clouds overhead, signaling it was going to rain. He quickly ran back to try and ask his mother for her permission to go to the village. When he got back, the other foxes were still playing outside, but Kushina was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey guys! Do know where mom is? I got to ask her something!" Ishi asked.

"She is inside the cave talking with an old fox!" Said one of the foxes.

"Thanks!" Ishi said, and then ran inside the cave. He began to look around for his mother, trying to find out where she was. The cave was big, and full of twist and turns. One could get lost if they didn't know their way around.

Ishi kept walking, until he heard voices. 'That must be mom!' He thought to himself. He moved himself closer, but stopped when he heard his mother had an angry tone.

"Danzo, why must you continuously harass me every now and again!" Kushina yelled out.

"I am simply making sure you are holding your end of the arrangement." Danzo stated in monotone.

'Arrangement? What arrangement?' Ishi thought.

"I come by to check on you, and I find that that thing has learned to do fox magic. That is seriously against our traditions." Danzo stated.

"Ishi is not a thing, he is my son, and if you must be angry with someone, be angry with me! I was the one who taught him!" Kushina stated both angrily and annoyed.

'Oh no! I hope moms not in trouble!' Ishi thought worriedly.

"That is dangerous, Kushina. To teach a demon at an early age is very unwise. If he shows his true nature, I will have to kill him myself." Danzo stated.

'Demon?' Ishi asked himself. He was then snapped out of his thoughts when Kushina yelled.

"DANZO! You will not touch a single hair on his head!" Kushina yelled out angrily. "Besides, you and the rest of the council are under oath by the Inari!" She stated smugly.

"But you are not. If the demon was to threaten your young, would you let it, Kushina?" Danzo asked curiously.

Kushina thought for moment, and then said seriously, "No."

"Then you must come to except that Ishi is not your son but is a demon." Danzo persuaded more seriously.

Kushina was about to retort when her ears caught the sound of a pebble being kicked. Both she and Danzo looked over to see Ishi standing there tears welling in his eyes.

"Ishi?" Kushina asked surprised. Ishi then began to run out the cave, ignoring his mother's calls.

"Ishi, wait!"

If Ishi had let his mother finish, she would have said, 'But Ishi is not a demon, he is my Ishi, and therefore, is my son, who is under my protection as are the rest of my children.'

Ishi ran out the cave, passing by his kin, tears staining his fur, burning his eyes. It then began to rain down on top of him, heavily soaking his fur. Kushina ran out, looking desperately for Ishi, calling out to him. "Ishi! Please, come back!"

Ishi then ran to the hillside where his favorite view was, then sat near the edge. Kushina then spotted him, and then headed right towards him.

"Ishi, be careful! Get away from that ledge!" Kushina called out desperately.

"Why? I'm not your real son anyway! I'm just a demon!" Ishi called out, both angrily and sadly. "You tried to teach me of trust, yet you lied to me about being my mother!" Ishi angrily said, tears burning his eyes.

"Ishi! You may not be my son by blood! But in my heart, you are just as cherished as my other children!" Kushina cried out, tears welling in her eyes. "I am sorry that I lied to you! But I have always loved you as my child! Please, Ishi! Come away from the ledge!"

Ishi began step closer towards Kushina, but then, his foot slipped on the slippery ledge, causing him to go over the edge. "Mama!" He called out, trying to grasp the ledge with his paws.

"ISHI!" Kushina ran over to the ledge to try and catch Ishi, but by the time she made it, Ishi had lost his grip, and began to plummet down to the cavern.

"ISHIIII!" Kushina watched as he fell into cavernous abyss.

"MAMAAAAaaaa!!!" Ishi called out as he plummeted.

Kushina wept, tears streaming down her face. Danzo walked out, witnessing Ishi's fall, then had a slight look of delight.

"Well. That takes care of the demon." Danzo stated dryly.

Kushina instantly turned in rage, pouncing the black fox to the ground, her fur standing on end as she snarled. "If you ever dare come near me or my children again without the company of the counsel, I swear I will tear you to shreds." Kushina angrily growled, almost making Danzo flinch.

She then got off of Danzo, allowing him to make his escape. "I will report his death to the Kyuubi. Farewell Kushina." He calmly stated, then ran off, disappearing into the distance.

Kushina began to slump to the cave, head down in utter sadness. Hinata then appeared in front of the cave. "Mama, have you seen Ishi? Uh? What's wrong mama?" She asked, noticing the tears running down Kushina's face.

Kushina looked Hinata straight in the eyes, then stated sadly, "He's... gone. He *sob* fell from the cliff edge!"

Hinata's eyes opened wide in surprise, she knew her mother doesn't lie about something this serious. She then ran to the cliff edge, looking over, not knowing what she'd see. When she reached the cliff, nothing was there. Tears began to well in pale plum eyes, and then, unable to hold it in any longer, she cried out loud, bursting into tears.

Kushina moved closer to Hinata, nuzzling her, comforting her, sharing her pain. She then directed Hinata to the cave, which was still weeping, and then looked back towards the cliff side in sadness before returning to the den.

* * *

"The young demon is dead, sir." Danzo stated, standing inside the great Kyuubi's den. The Kyuubi's den was incredibly large, like the inside of a hollow mountain, a giant thrown chair chiseled out of the side of the wall, and torches lighting the entire den.

"**How did this happen, Danzo?**" Kyuubi asked.

"He fell off a cliff side, great one, after hearing the origins of his past." Danzo stated dryly.

"**Very well then! Everyone leave then! I need a moment of privacy!**" Kyuubi ordered, every fox leaving out the entrance of the mountain. When Kyuubi was alone, a sad expression fell on his face. "**What a shame, a waste of potential. Kushina must be suffering.**" He then looked in the direction of the exit. "**Weep, Kushina. Weep now. Let your pain all out. But don't you forget about your other kits as well.**" Kyuubi stated sadly. "**And Ishi.... rest in the peace you were denied since birth!**"

* * *

Ishi had awoken on the side of a river that flowed through the cavern, his fur soaking wet and cold. He looked up, and saw that the sun was beginning to set. He then looked back at the mountain of flowers and fruit, a saw that he was at the base of it.

"It sure looks like a long walk home!" He said to himself. He then pouted his head in sadness. "Not that anyone would care. After all, I am just a demon." He then turned around; facing the opposite direction of the mountain, and then began his lonely journey.

"Hehehe! This couldn't have gone any better even if I planned it." Kabuto chuckled to himself, watching Ishi from the sky, unnoticed. "With the mother out of the way, he will most certainly be more susceptible to evil now. Hahahaha!" Kabuto laughed out loud to himself, and then vanished yet again in the shadows.

* * *

"**Very good work Kabuto! Without good guidance, he will be easily swayed to do wrong! Kukukuku!**" Orichimaru stated inside his dark castle, laughing at the foxes suffering.

"**Continue to monitor him Kabuto. Report back when he becomes powerful enough to be considered in my army!**"

* * *

"As you wish Lord Orichimaru." Kabuto said with bow, continuing to keep an eye on Ishi.

* * *

Minato had watched the whole ordeal, and looked at Ishi with great sorrow in his eyes.

"_**Be careful on your journey, Ishi! For the world is a cruel and a harsh place, and can be very unforgiving. Especially to something or someone different, that is difficult to understand...**_"

* * *

First few Chapters will seem a bit slow, but I promise it will speed up. Also, you are all wondering where Naruto is at? Don't worry, that will be answered soon, unless you all figured it out. Also, I know this chapter was kind of mushy, and angsty, but bare with me, this is my first attempt at writing a story played by ear.

Hope you enjoyed! Please Review.

Signed,

Mr. Nobody


	3. Kindness Served in a Bowl

**Sorry for the delay. School and all. Please enjoy, and don't forget, please update.**

* * *

**Chapter 2- Kindness Served in a Bowl and Revelations**

Days had gone by, but Ishi had yet to find any food or shelter. It mattered not to him, though, for he was still depressed about what he had found out.

'All this time, I was a demon, not a real fox.' He thought sadly to himself. 'Now what do I do? I can't go back; the foxes there will kill me. Yet, I really don't know what to do. Since I am not really a fox, I can't really become the greatest fox ever known.' He thought sourly.

**Grrrghl!** Ishi's stomach had growled.

He then realized he hadn't eaten anything since he left his home. "I guess I am kind of hungry! I haven't eaten in days! I should probably hunt down some food for me to eat!" he said out loud.

**Grrrghl!** Ishi's stomach had growled, again.

"Only problem is, I've never hunted before, and I am too exhausted from hunger to try!" He said, dropping his head in defeat.

**Sniff, sniff!** A scent then caught Ishi's nose. He didn't recognize the smell, but not only did it smell good, it smelled edible.

'What is that aroma? It really smells good!' He happily thought to himself.

He began to follow the scent, going through a plain of tall green grass, until he came to a clearing. Within the clearing, a large wagon was parked with seats and a stand within it, the smell coming from the stand.

'What is that thing?' Ishi then began to move curiously towards the wagon, having no clue what it was. He looked at the strange object, glancing at every angle of it. He could smell the aroma coming from inside the wagon. He found an opening in the wagon, and then jumped up on a pile of crates to get a look inside.

Inside, he could hear voices speaking, a language that he could understand, but had never heard before. The voices belonged to two people, an old and aged human man, probably in his forties, and a young human girl, probably around fifteen years of age. They were wearing the same outfits, a white cap, white robes, and a blue apron.

Ishi looked curiously at the two, wondering what they were. "Are these humans? I've heard of them from Mama and Kabuto, but I've never actually seen one before. They sure look kind of funny."

Ishi peered closer to see what the two humans were doing inside the wagon. Inside, he saw the man crushing, molding, twisting, and cutting a long gooey yellowish-white substance. The girl looked like she was setting up something in another opening in the wagon, one with a long table to eat at.

The girl then proceeded to set a container of soy sauce, and then next, a container full of napkins. After she was done with this task, she moved to stir a metal spoon into a giant metal pot, which was were the aroma was originating from.

"Hey Ayame, could you go set the chairs up out front, and when you're done with that, could you perhaps setup the 'We are Open!' sign for me? My arms are bit preoccupied at the moment." the old man asked the girl.

"Sure thing father!" She happily replied. She then began to head toward the back of the wagon, then began heading around to the front to unfold the overhanging tarp to block the sun, and then began to un-stack a set of stools, setting them in front of the bar-like table.

Ishi watched them both with curiosity and fascination. He looked at both of them, taking in every bit of their features. 'They don't have fur covering their bodies, and they don't have tails either. Even Kabuto has a tail!' he thought to himself. He noticed the wrinkled features on the father's face, with some grey hair on his head.

'I wonder why they have that stuff on their bodies. It doesn't seem very comfortable.' He thought, referring to the clothes they both wore. He noticed the girl, Ayame she was called, had long flowing brown hair going down her back. 'She may not be a fox, but she is sure pretty looking.' He thought as he watched Ayame finishing her task.

When she finished, she then yelled out, "Father! Do you know where the 'We are Open!' sign is? I forgot where we set it last night."

"It should be out back by some crates!" he replied. She then began to head towards Ishi's direction, oblivious to Ishi being there.

'Oh shoot!' Ishi inwardly cursed, panicking, not wanting to be discovered. In his panic, his foot accidentally slipped on the crate he was standing on, causing him to fall into a bundle of ropes piled next to the crate. Even more in his panic, he struggled to get up, only to find himself tangled in a knotted mess of ropes. Ishi attempted to escape, but the more he struggled, the more tangled up he got.

He stopped struggling when he all of sudden heard a gasp. He turned his head to see that Ayame had spotted him, a look of surprise on her face. She began to approach him, slowly coming closer to him.

It was now that Ishi had noticed that she was a giant in comparison to himself. If he had to guess right, Kabuto, who was bigger than he was, would probably only come to the size of her waist. He then gulped in nervousness at her size, 'Wow! Humans are sure a lot bigger up close!'

Ayame began to slowly lean down, moving her hands cautiously closer towards Ishi. When he saw this, he began to panic, not sure of Ayame's intentions, and began to thrash about, making him even more entangled in the rope.

Ayame's hands stopped momentarily when he started panicking. She then had a sweet smile over her face now, as she calmly said, "Easy now, I'm not going to hurt you." Fortunately for her, Ishi understood, and began to calm down.

She then knelt down to her knees, and then slowly, began to help untangle Ishi from his own rope bindings. When he was finally freed, he jumped back, trying to keep his distance from the girl to get a better look at her. For few minutes, they stared each other in the eyes, and then Ayame began to smile towards him. She then knelt down on one knee, holding her hand out to him in a welcoming manner.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." She softly said.

* * *

"Where has Ishi gone off to now?" said an irritated Kabuto, as he flew around, looking for Ishi. "I look away for one minute, and then end up losing him! He's got to be around here somewhere!" He continued to fly around until a scent caught his nose. "Huh? That smell! It smells like ramen broth. I wonder…"

He adjusted his glasses, then began heading towards the smell. 'Ishi hasn't eaten in days, and he doesn't know how to hunt. Knowing him, he'll head right toward that aroma.' He thought to himself.

He continued to fly until he came to the origin of the scent. He remained in the air, and looked down to see what was going on. As he had assumed, Ishi was present, but what shocked him was that a human girl was in front of him, beckoning him to come closer. 'Hmm. Curious. What's going on down there?'

* * *

"Come on, I won't hurt you." Ayame continued to motion him to come closer. Ishi hesitantly began to approach her, still unsure if she could be trusted. Every inch he came closer, his steps became bolder, until he finally approached her. Gently, Ayame picked Ishi up off the ground, feeling his meek and frail body, thin from lack of sustenance.

"Oh my! You barely have any meat on you. How long have you been without food? I'll take you inside, and get you something to eat!" She carried him inside, calling out to her father. "Father! I found a fox kit! I think it desperately needs food! We have to help it!"

Up above, Kabuto had watched the whole scene, and began to have a worried look on his face. "This isn't good! I didn't count on an act of kindness in my equations! What is with that human? Doesn't she know that foxes can be vicious and have rabies? At this rate, Ishi definitely won't become evil! I need to give him a proper push in the wrong direction! But how?"

Kabuto began to think about all his options, knowing he needed to get Ishi away from these generous humans, and near more bad influences. An idea then suddenly came to his mind.

'I know what I'll do! I'll have a demon come by, thrash Ishi around a bit, and then have that demon kill these two humans off! Ishi will get so upset, he'll want revenge. Nothing like having the thirst for vengeance to push an innocent over the edge to the side of evil. Course, I should have thought of that with Ishi's mother instead. Oh well!' He shrugged.

'Now, who do I know in the region who will do this job right?'

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, pondering who to have for this job, racking his brain through a list of choices, until an idea finally came to him. "I know! I'll use Mizuki! He loves eating humans, and he is big enough for the job!" Kabuto then began to fly off, heading toward his destination.

* * *

Ishi was very nervous to say the least, 'What was I thinking going with that human?' Upon many occasions, Ishi had heard tales and stories of humans, mainly not very good ones. He had heard tales of how humans sometimes despise a fox for their mischievous nature, and as such, would go out of their way to kill, pelt, and/or eat a whole fox, and that a young kit would be no exception.

As Ishi sat on a table counter, watching the two humans prepare something in the giant metal pot, he began to get a little nervous, and started having second thoughts.

'Th-they're not going to put me in there, are they?' Ishi cringed at the thought of being lunch, a fox stew.

Ayame then began to walk towards Ishi, carrying something in her hands. Ishi closed his eyes, still fearing the fate of becoming a human culinary dish.

**Clunk!**

Ishi opened his eyes to see that Ayame had set down a bowel a couple of inches in front of his nose. He took a whiff of the substance in the bowel, and then peered down into the bowel to see what was inside. Inside was a little broth from the pot, as well as some pork slices, a couple of chopped up vegetables, white circular disks with red swirls in the middle, and the yellowish-white substance he saw the old man make earlier, now in a stringy form.

"Dad? Are you sure that serving ramen to a fox is ok?" Ayame asked a look of uncertainty on her face.

"Of course it's ok! Ichiraku Ramen is the best ramen in the world! All the ingredients should be safe for a fox to eat!" He stated boldly. "You see, Ayame, a fox is an omnivore, and have been known to eat meat, vegetables, and fruit! I am sure a bowel of raman will be ok!"

Ishi continued to stare at the bowel full of ramen, considering whether to eat the meal or not. He then slowly moved his snout into the dish, then took a quick lick of the food. The moment the broth touched his tongue, Ishi's eyes began to water from how good it was, and thus, quickening the pace of his licking. It was unlike anything Ishi had ever tasted, plus, it was soon ridding him of his hunger. He finished the dish by slurping the last noodle into his mouth, thoroughly happy and satisfied.

"See! Told it would be good for him." the old man had stated a smug look on his wrinkled face.

"Ok dad! You were right." Ayame then leaned down to the young fox, a smile gracing her lips. "So little one, would you like seconds?" She asked.

'Oh yes! I would love to have some more!' Ishi tried to say. Unfortunately, to Ayame and her father, they only heard a bark come from Ishi's mouth. Luckily for Ishi, both Ayame and her father decided to take the constant barking as a yes, and began to serve him up another bowel.

'Wow!' Ishi thought, 'These humans aren't so bad after all… plus, they actually care!'

They brought him his second helping, and he joyfully consumed it, a slight tear on the brink of his eyes, threatening to trickle down his face.

* * *

In a region full of dark clouds, trees decayed and rotten, and a lake a sickly shade of purple and hazy looking, a large castle stood on an island in the center of the lake, dark and foreboding looking. It was here where Kabuto was flying to, to meet with his special assassin, flying straight into the castle, entering one of the many windows and passage ways.

The inside of the castle was just as dark and foreboding as the outside, with very little torches lighting the halls of the large castle.

"Hello? Mizuki? Are you here?" Kabuto calmly asked, adjusting his glasses again.

"Yes, I'm here! Come in Kabuto!" said a slightly annoyed voice.

Kabuto flew further into the dwelling, coming to a large grand hall, a chair in the center of the room. Sitting in that chair sat a platinum-haired man, who had on a dark-blue vest, and a pair of white Gi pants. The man's body looked incredibly pale, and his physique was incredibly thin and malnourished.

"My, Mizuki! You look thinner then I last remembered." Kabuto sneered.

"Oh, shut up! I haven't eaten in weeks because nothing ever comes into my territory anymore." Mizuki snarled. "So? To what do I owe the 'pleasure' of this visit?" he said, dripping of sarcasm. "Has Lord Orichimaru have need of my skills?"

"Yes and no." Kabuto responded. "I have a job for you. I require you to head down to the forest at the foot of Fruit-Flower Mountain, and kill two humans who have a ramen shop setup there, and also beat up a young kitsune that is with them."

"Hmm. Interesting! Does the method of killing matter? Or can I just eat them both?" Mizuki asked, hoping more for the second option than anything else.

"It matters not how you dispose of them. Just make sure you rough up the young fox, and make sure you don't kill him. Lord Orichimaru has big plans for him. You should be able to track them with smell of the ramen." Kabuto instructed.

"Very good, I get to fill my stomach again. Plus, there's nothing sweeter then the fresh meat of human dipped in ramen broth." Mizuki began to lick his lips; the thought of eating again brought pleasure to his mind.

"Just remember. Don't. Kill. The Kitsune!" Kabuto commanded.

"Yea! Yea! I got it! Food, HERE I COME!" Mizuki yelled out, stepping down from his chair.

All of sudden, Mizuki's body began to elongate, then began to bulge, creating a creature that was three times bigger than the thin malnourished Mizuki. He then suddenly went on all fours, a whip-like tail flowing from behind. His hands turned razor sharp claws, his teeth elongated, becoming sharper, and his ears pointed up and outwards, resembling cat's ears. An orange, black, and white fur began to cover Mizuki's body, his eyes becoming turquoise slits.

He had shown his true form which was a demonic tiger. In his changed state, he began to dart off, running at incredible speeds, almost becoming a blur to one's eyes.

Kabuto began to smirk, knowing he made a good choice. "I knew Mizuki wouldn't pass up a free meal. But I better keep an eye on the situation to make sure Ishi comes out ok." He then flew off, following way behind Mizuki, unable to fly as fast as Mizuki can run.

* * *

"**Burp**!" Ishi had let off a loud burp, after finishing his fifth bowl, stomach finally satisfied.

"Wow, he sure must have been hungry." Ayame stated, looking at her father, a frown on his face, who was slightly upset at giving five free bowls of ramen to the little fox.

"The little guy sure doesn't mind mooching off of us." Her father stated sourly.

"Don't worry dad, I'll pay for the ramen." Ayame stated happily.

"Nah, it will be on the house, but just this one time." He then looks jokingly at the little fox. "Next time I expect payment. Got that little guy!"

To be honest, Ishi did understand, but he wasn't sure how exactly he would pay, he didn't even know what it meant for something to be 'on the house,' but he knew he would pay back the two human's kindness. This was a promise, and Ishi never went back on his promises.

"So where exactly do think he came from, anyway?" Ayame asked suddenly.

"He probably came from the mountains. There are a lot of foxes that live up there. Poor little guy probably got separated from his family." He stated, looking sadly at the little fox.

"What should we do dad?" Ayame asked.

"Well, our journey to the next town is on the way to the mountain, we could take him that far. But he will have to go the rest of the way on his own." Her father stated.

"Um, dad? I was sort of hoping we could keep him with us." Ayame asked pleadingly.

"Now Ayame, you know my policy with animals. No pets allowed. I am pushing it as is. Sorry Ayame, but we can't keep him. Besides, he has a family of his own that is probably worried about him." Her father stated sternly.

"I guess you're right. I understand father." Ayame agreed sadly.

'I wish that was the case, why would they miss me. I'm not really a fox. I shouldn't even pretend to be one.' Ishi thought sourly, returning to his depressed mood.

* * *

When it was obvious that their wouldn't be any customers coming into the area, the two ramen chefs packed up their stuff, and began to move on their way to the next town. They kept the pot of ramen prepared and ready in the event that they find a passerby in the area. The ramen stall was a wagon that was being pulled by two horses, moving at a steady pace, as to not harm the kitchen inside.

Ishi was against the idea of returning home, but didn't want to be rude, and thought he would just ride with them till they reach the mountain, and then go his own way.

'Though I wish I could stay with them instead. Unfortunately the old man said I can't, but maybe I could follow them to this… what did they call it again? A town I think.' Ishi thought to himself.

"AAAHHH!" Ishi suddenly felt the cart stop, and he heard Ayame as she screamed. Suddenly, he smelled a familiar scent in air, it was blood. He knew the smell because his mother would sometimes bring home some freshly killed meat after one of her hunts.

Ishi ran out of the wagon to see if the two human's were ok, and he saw what was going on. In front of the wagon, consuming one of the horses, was an incredibly large tiger with white hair on its head, revealing it to be Mizuki. Amazingly, Mizuki swallowed the horse in one bite, bones and all.

"**Ah, that was good. Finally, I got something to eat!**" The tiger yelled. He then looked towards the two humans, and got himself ready to feast. "**Now for the main course.**" He said, licking his lips.

"Ayame! Hurry, get inside the wagon!" Her father yelled. The two quickly jumped inside their ramen bar, hoping to avoid being eaten.

"**That's it! Make it interesting! I like to fight for my food.**" Mizuki yelled out, pouncing on top of the wagon. Using his great size and strength, he then toppled the wagon over, and then began to claw at it.

All of sudden, Ishi pounced from inside onto Mizuki face, clawing and biting it as hard as a small fox could. Annoyed by this, Mizuki took one of his mighty claws, and flicked Ishi off his face, sending the poor fox flying into the grass. Once Mizuki saw Ishi wasn't coming out, he continued to rake the wagon, Ayame and her father trying to stay as low and hidden as possible.

Ishi got back up, and saw that the old ramen chef and his daughter were both pinned, and unable to even try to escape. He realized that Mizuki was only interested in the humans, and was not going to let up on them. He realized that they needed a distraction, something to help buy some time for them to make a break for it.

'Come on Ishi! Think! What can I do to catch his attention!' Ishi thought, racking his brain for any ideas. Then suddenly an idea came to him. 'That's it! He is only after the humans.'

Mizuki continued to rake the wagon, coming close to opening it. "**I can almost taste their succulent meat.**"

Suddenly, a rock hit Mizuki square on the head. He looked back to see that Ayame had thrown the rock, and then began to run in the opposite direction.

"**I don't know when you got out, but now I am going to make sure you suffer while I consume you!**" He then angrily began to move after the human girl.

When he was far enough away, the two humans peeked their heads out from under the wagon, witnessing what happened.

"Father! What's going on? Why are there two of me?" Ayame asked.

"I don't know. Maybe some kind-hearted spirit decided to help us. I'd rather not look a gift horse in the mouth! Let's go before that demon comes back!" the two humans began to run away, going as fast as their legs could carry them.

* * *

There are many things about Ishi no Kitsune. He was sometimes a loud idiot, who would sometimes pull stupid stunts sometimes for a laugh, though his mother either doesn't know, or chose not to say anything. He was known for his tenacity, never quitting any task until it was finished, and to always do his best. He was also known for his physical abnormalities. By that, I mean he was a lot stronger than the other kits, was a lot faster too, and able to have plenty of energy to go all day. It was because of all this that the other kits would stop playing with him, and leave him be.

He may have been the fastest kit among all the other kits, but right now, that didn't mean squat for running from a giant demonic tiger wanting to eat you because he thought you were a teenage human girl running for your life.

'I don't know how much longer I can take this!' Ishi thought to himself as he ran at his top speed. He was doing a great job of out running the savage beast, but he was going at his maximum speed for a while, and fatigued began to kick in. Plus, it was difficult for Ishi to constantly run on two legs due to him being used to using all fours.

"**I am going to bite your head off, little girl!**" Mizuki roared, pushing his legs for a final pounce to finish his prey off. He was able to bring his mouth down and instantly bit Ishi's head.

"AHH!" Ishi yelled out, expecting to feel intense pain. But, he felt nothing, he didn't even smell his own blood. "Huh? What's going on?"

Mizuki was expecting the sweet bitter taste of human blood, what he got was nothing. He suddenly felt an intense pain in his jaw where he bit down. He let go of Ishi's head, then changed into a hybrid form of his large tiger form, and his human shape. He then reached up with one of his claws to where the pain is, and out of his mouth came a broken tooth, in fact, three broken teeth. He then held his jaw in immense pain.

"**Ahh! What the hell is your skull made of?**" he yelled in agony.

Instantly, Ishi transformed back to normal, confused to what happened. He took a good look at Mizuki's teeth, and he saw a head shaped hole in the area where his teeth were missing. What Ishi didn't realize, due to not paying any attention, was whenever Kushina tried to punish him, if she tried to strike his head, nothing would happen, due to the fact that his skull is literately made of stone.

Ishi rubbed his head to find nothing was wrong with it. "Whoa! How am I still alive?"

"**Ow! I feel like I just bit a rock.**" Mizuki yelled out, still holding his jaw. "**Damn it, now I won't be able to chew with that side of my mouth for awhile!**" Mizuki finally noticed that Ishi wasn't the human he was chasing. "**Grr. You made me lose my prey runt! Now I have to go back to that wagon to pick up their scent, and then track them down before the scent dies down!**"

Mizuki prepared to head back to where the wagon was, but before he did, Ishi jumped onto his back, holding on for dear life while Mizuki ran towards the wagon. "**So, you want a piggy-back ride? Fine! Try to hold on after this!**" Mizuki began to move at incredible speeds again, become a blur to the naked eye.

'I've got to do something, or else this jerk is going to eat Ayame and the old man. I've got make sure he doesn't follow them, just until they are far enough away. But how?' Ishi thought to himself, still desperately holding on to Mizuki's back.

Mizuki suddenly stopped when he reached the wagon. "**All I have to do is catch a scent, find them, and then I can feast!**" But before he could lean down to sniff the area, Ishi jumped up on his head and bit down on Mizuki's ear with all his might. "**OW! Damn it! Let go of my ear you damn fox!**" Mizuki began to shake back and forth to get the young fox to let go, but Ishi refused to let go, hanging on with all his might.

"I made a promise to pay them back for their kindness! I am not going back on that now!" Ishi grumbled out through his teeth, still holding on to the tender ear.

**Rip!** Ishi went flying off of Mizuki's head, the taste and smell of blood filling his senses, falling through the trashed and broken wagon, a bloody ear in his mouth.

"**DAMN YOU! YOU STUPID FOX, YOU RIPPED OFF MY FUCKING EAR!**" Mizuki yelled out, blood running down the side of his head. "**I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU FUCKING PAY! THEN I AM GOING TO EAT THOSE HUMAN FRIENDS OF YOURS NICE AND SLOWLY WHEN I FIND THEM!**"

Ishi began to get up inside of the wagon, his body aching from the impact. 'I've got to make sure he doesn't get the chance to track them! But how do I cover up their scent?' He then spotted something in the wagon which he recognized. He remembered one time he dug it up and ate it, only for it burn his eyes and mouth, and that the smell was so foul that he couldn't smell anything but it for two days. What he had spotted was an onion, actually a whole bag of onions, and instantly an idea came to him.

"**RRGGHH! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I AM GOING TO DO WHAT YOU DID TO ME! ONLY I WON'T JUST TEAR OFF AN EAR! I AM GOING TEAR EVERYTHING OFF TIL YOU ARE NOTHING BUT BLOODY STUMPS! EVEN YOUR MOTHER WILL BE REPUSLED BY YOUR APPEARANCE WHEN I AM DONE WITH YOU! GRR!**" Mizuki growled angrily, clawing at the wagon again and again to get inside.

Ishi suddenly jumped out of the wagon, and in his mouth was the bag of onions. He tossed the bag with his all, sending it right into Mizuki's mouth. He then put his paws together, jumping on top of Mizuki's head. "Transform!" He yelled out, then changed into the form of Mizuki, forcing down the jaws of Mizuki's mouth, and then shoving two extra onions into Mizuki's nose, making sure some of the juices got into his eyes.

"**AHHH! IT BURNS! MY EYES. MY NOSE. MY MOUTH. IT ALL BURNS! COUGH!**" Tears began to flow down from Mizuki's red blood-shot eyes, and then he began to flail about, slashing at anything that was in front of him. Unfortunately, Ishi was the one who was in front, and found himself slashed across his right cheek by three of Mizuki's claws, creating three gashing marks on his right cheek.

Ishi tried to ignore the pain, then jumped back away from Mizuki, hoping to counter attack. But the large tiger continued to slash about, hoping to make the little fox pay for what he had done, and though Ishi was able to avoid another slash across his forehead, he was unable to avoid the hidden swipe at his left cheek. Amazingly, the gashes matched the marks on his right cheek symmetrically, having three more gashes added to his face.

The pain suddenly became too much, and so he broke out of his disguise, turning back into a little fox again, and then fell to ground, slipping into unconsciousness.

"**GRR! That damn fox, I am going to string him up and hang him by his entrails!**" Mizuki prepared to finish Ishi off, raising his claw high, ready to crash down on Ishi's limp form.

"Have you forgotten about our arrangement?" a voice said from behind Mizuki.

Mizuki turned around, and came face to face with Kabuto, an angry glare on his face.

"I believe it was, 'kill the humans, and rough up the fox, but not, under any circumstance kill him.'" Kabuto stated.

"**Because of this little snot, I lost my meal, I chipped three teeth, one of my ears have been partially torn off, and, I won't smell or taste anything for a while until the onions clear up. This little shit deserves to die!**" Mizuki yelled out in anger.

"Fine, take his life. See how Lord Orichimaru reacts when you do. I can imagine it now. He'll stick that long tongue of his down your throat, have it come out through your stomach, into your ear and wrapped around that tiny little brain of yours, then have it come out your nose." Kabuto stated.

Mizuki shuddered at the thought of this, knowing that Kabuto wasn't lying, for Orichimaru had done it before, and it did not feel pleasant. Despite his anger and rage, Mizuki decided to back off, and sulked as he started heading back to his home, due not being able to taste or smell, and stomach just satisfied enough with eating the two horses.

When Mizuki was gone, Kabuto leaned toward Ishi, and then, began to heal all his wounds. Once he was done, Ishi began to open his eyes again, seeing Kabuto's face.

"Kabuto? When did you get here? And for that matter, what happened to the tiger bastard?" Ishi stated tiredly.

"He was about to attack you, but I was able to stop him, and chase him off. I wouldn't have been able to if you hadn't weakened him down for me. Afterwards, I began to heal your wounds so you wouldn't die." Kabuto said, voice sounding full of concern. "I am afraid, though, that he left you with some obvious scars."

Ishi looked at him questionably, until Kabuto suddenly pulled out a small mirror. Ishi noticed the scars right away, as the three scars on both sides of his cheeks.

"Argh! I couldn't do anything to stop him, all I did could barely do anything to help!" Ishi yelled, completely frustrated.

"If it's any consolation, you did tear off his ear." Kabuto tried to make Ishi feel better about his loss.

"Sigh! I wish I was strong enough to kick that guy's ass. If I was strong period, no one would push me around and disrespect me." Ishi stated, going back to being depressed. "But I can't even become the world's greatest kitsune…"

"Now hold on. Who says you can't?" Kabuto asked, slightly miffed.

"I found out I am actually a demon, so how can I become the world's greatest if I am not a fox in the first place?" Ishi asked angrily.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a demon too. And also, the current greatest kitsune, the Bijuu Kyuubi, is a demon. You still look like a fox, so you can still go for the title. Only you can say what you can or cannot do." Kabuto instructed.

"I guess you're right. But how do I go about becoming strong enough TO be the greatest?" Ishi asked.

"I know a way you can get stronger." Kabuto stated thoughtfully.

At this, Ishi's eyes had instantly lighted up. "You do? How Kabuto, you've got to tell me!" Ishi was eager to learn, and take what he could.

'Ishi is too young and too innocent to sign the 'Dark Contract,' so maybe another option of gaining strength would be appropriate.' Kabuto thought to himself.

"I have heard a tale of a mountain sage, East of here I believe, who is known to train anyone, whether humans, spirits, or even demons. He'll accept them and train them regardless." Kabuto stated, pointing toward the East for Ishi to see. "But the trip alone is perilous and far, and what's more, I heard he only accepts someone worthy of his training."

"I am going for it!" Ishi yells out.

"But he might not accept you for training! What will you do then?" Kabuto asked curiously.

"I'll keep bugging him until he does decide to train me." Ishi stated with renewed determination.

"Well then, we might as well get started. It is going to be a long trip." Kabuto said, hiding an evil smirk.

And so, the young fox Ishi no Kitsune began his journey anew, with hopes and aspirations to become stronger, and maybe the greatest. And with that, he starts off his journey yelling to the sky nine simple words. "I Will Be the World's Greatest Kitsune! Believe it!"

* * *

**I hope you all have enjoyed this latest chapter. No, it is not the end, but merely the beginning. If you all have some suggestions you all would like to mention, don't hesitate to do so. Also, please review.**

**Signed,**

**Mr. Nobody**


	4. The Ascension to Dreams

**My apologies for not updating anything for so long. I have not given up on anything. Due to school, it will take longer for chapters to come out. Sorry.**

**Finally, a real reviewer, Thank You: oldghost **

**Now let the story begin.**

* * *

Chapter 3- The Ascension to Dreams

One month had passed since that fateful day that Ishi decided to walk his path. During that time, he had learned many things, thanks to the accompaniment of Kabuto, like how to properly hunt for food and forage for fruit, or how to make himself a shelter or find an abandoned hole to crawl into. Every day, he had faced hardships and perils, crossing rivers and streams to forests and deserts. On many occasions, he had to defend himself from animals larger than him, and had to fight for survival. It was during one of these fights that Ishi discovered that his skull was literately as hard as stone, and could very well make a good blunting weapon when he head butts, or protect him when someone attacks his head. He had seen many strange creatures and different animals during his travels, and had seen many sights in the period of one month. And now, he had finally made it to his first human village, and hopefully, the location of the powerful Mountain Sage.

"So this is a human village? Wow!" Ishi had looked in awe of the small trading village at the foot of a large, vertically steep mountain.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways. I will leave finding the Sage up to you." Kabuto stated.

"Huh? Why? Aren't you going to come with me? I remember you saying that you can't be seen by anyone who hasn't seen you before, so why not come with me into town?" Ishi asked.

"Let's just say that someone who has already seen me before is in this village, and he sort of holds a bit of grudge against me." Kabuto answered, adjusting his glasses as he did.

"Huh? Who?" Ishi asked.

"I'd rather not say. Be better for you so you won't get into trouble because of me." Kabuto then began to spread his wings, beginning to take off into the air. "I will be around to keep an eye on you. It just won't be as frequent as back on your home mountain. Good luck with finding the Sage." He then took off, flying out of Ishi's sight.

"I guess I am on my own now…" Ishi whispered. He then began to trek towards the town, hoping to find this so called great Sage.

He had been traveling about for a bit, passing people who gave him a few stares, but then went back to what they were doing. He was marveling at the human village, for he had never seen one before, and he was amazed at what he saw. He continued until his stomach growled again, signifying his hunger.

**Grrrgh!**

"Great, I am on my own, and I am hungry. Guess I'll have to find some food." Ishi then began to sniff around, smelling different scents in the air, catching a familiar scent in the air. "It's ramen! Alright!" He then ran off towards the direction of the scent.

He came across a restaurant, and noticed that many people were entering and exiting the shop, showing it was much larger and much fancier then the Ichiraku Ramen stand. But he smelled not only ramen in the dinner, but other smells of food he never had. In excitement, Ishi ran right in, only to be grabbed by the gruff of his neck, and brought to the face of a man, wearing a strange nose piece covering his nose.

"Hey! Who let this mangy animal in here? No animals are allowed in Hakkaku's restaurant!" The man then walked to the door, and tossed Ishi out, causing him to hit the ground on the other side of the street.

Ishi looked up, wondering what happened. 'What was that about?' He then remembers what the old man at Ichiraku had said. '_Now Ayame, you know my policy with animals. No pets allowed. I am pushing it as is.' _He thought about this, and then remembered what the other man with the weird nose said. _'No animals are allowed in Hakkaku's restaurant!'_

"Ok, I get it! An animal is not allowed in a place where humans eat." He then began to try and think of a plan, when he noticed that the humans were just strolling right in, and none were being thrown out. "Hmm… I got it!"

* * *

"Thank you for coming to Hakkaku's Restaurant! We hope you have a good day!" The cashier had routinely said to the leaving customers, a fake smile on his face as he waved goodbye.

Suddenly, a young man with brown hair wearing fine silk and noble looking clothing, he was fine and fair looking, carrying a regal presence that demanded respect. The only flaws on his whole face were whisker like scars on his cheeks.

"The Daimyo?!" The cashier yelled in surprise, and then bowed to the ground in respect, followed by all the patrons who were present.

The man from earlier had a look of shock on his face, and then bowed equally as low as everyone present. "Oh great Daimyo, to what do I owe the visit? Have you come to eat at my humble restaurant? I am the owner of the restaurant, Hakkaku himself. If you need anything just ask, and I will gladly oblige."

But when the noble man spoke, he made a strange yapping sound, like small dog barking. At that moment, everyone began to stare at the Daimyo strangely, curious as to what was wrong with the noble.

"Daimyo, are you ok?" Hakkaku asked, slightly worried for the young man.

'Yes I am fine! But anyway, I wished to be served your best ramen.' The noble stated, not realizing to everyone else, he was making yipping, snarling, growl noises. Yes, Ishi had chosen to take the form of someone he saw, and he just so happened to have seen the Daimyo passing by.

"Oh, I got it! Your voice is horse, so you can't speak properly! I apologies for my rudeness, great Daimyo, please forgive me!" Hakkaku stated, bowing his head this time.

'Huh? What? I can't speak properly?' Ishi thought to himself. 'Oh yeah! How stupid of me! Mama always said that humans can't understand us, because they only understand their own language. But I don't know how to speak it. Oh well. The idiot already has given me a good enough excuse to not talk. I was lucky that I disguised myself as someone apparently important. It is time to eat!'

The servers seated the disguised Daimyo to a table, setting him down with a menu on his table. "Can I get you anything to drink?" One of the servers asked.

Ishi quickly nodded his head, showing yes to the drink.

"What will you like to be served, Daimyo?" Hakkaku asked.

Ishi began to look through the menu, thankful that it had contained pictures of the food being served, for he did not know how to read. He saw a familiar picture of a bowl of ramen, recognizing it by the swirly fish cakes and noodles inside the dish. He pointed to the picture, hoping the server would understand.

"You wish to have some Miso ramen sir?" Ishi nodded to this. "Very good selection, coming right up, it will be ready momentarily, Daimyo sir." The server went as fast as he could, wishing to please the supposedly very wealthy Daimyo.

While he waited, Ishi observed his apparent surroundings, marveling at the fine craftsmanship and décor of the expensive looking restaurant. Before Ishi knew it, the server was back with his order, a steaming bowl of Miso ramen. "Here is your order, sir. I hope enjoy!" the server said with a bow.

Ishi instantly dug in, slurping the ramen in his mouth, getting some of the food on himself, and even licked from the bowl. The people stared in awe and disgust as he sloppily inhaled the Miso ramen, eating with great gusto. When he finished, he held out his bowl, signifying that he wished for more. The servers quickly rushed to the kitchen, and then came out with another serving of ramen.

Ishi had to admit, though it may have been good ramen, it didn't taste as great as Ichiraku Ramen. He didn't know whether it was because, at the time, he was starving to death, or because Ayame and the old man did something really good. Oh well, the ramen he was currently engorging himself with will have to do.

He was now on his seventh bowl, enjoying having his stomach filled, until Hakkaku walked up with a shit-eating happy smile on his face, rubbing palms together, staring at Ishi now.

"Daimyo, sir? I didn't wish to rudely interrupt your meal, but I just thought if you would like to pay for the food now?"

Before Ishi could respond, a young man with brown hair wearing fine silk and noble looking clothing entered into the restaurant, a prim and pampered face and a look of absolute boredom. At his side were two large armored men with katana's at their side. When Ishi saw him, one word simply kept repeating itself in his head…'Shit!' The reason for this was the young man who had just walked was indeed the real young Daimyo.

The young Daimyo spotted Ishi, raising one of his eyebrows in question. "What is this?" He asked in a haughty voice that showed how snobby he was.

"D-Daimyo? But how, Who? What?" Hakkaku was speechless; he did not know what was going on.

"You couldn't obviously tell that this imposter was not me. Look at him, such filthy mannerism. One cannot compare a purse made of silk to one made of a sow's ear." The Daimyo stated haughtily.

Ishi began to glare at the young man, and though he wasn't sure what a purse was, that statement sounded like the Daimyo compared him to a pig. Though Ishi didn't know any pigs personally, he was still insulted by the words. 'What did you say, jerk?' Ishi tried to say, but unfortunately, the words came out as a bark and a growl.

"See, he even acts like a boorish beast. To actually attempt to compare to me is an insult unto itself. Guards, I want you to remove this imposter, and have him imprisoned or executed." The Daimyo said with his nose sticking up.

"Yes sir!" The guards responded. They then charged towards Ishi, who quickly ducked under the table to avoid being grabbed. He crawled underneath, and then popped up; pushing the table up, hitting the two guards back a bit. He then began to head towards the exit, running towards the Daimyo, but before he could get close to pass the Daimyo, the two guards grabbed his legs, tripping him down on the ground.

Ishi didn't give up though, and before the guards got a good grip on him, he changed back into a fox, slipping his foot out of the hand, jumping up out of the way of the other guard's hands, and then finally spring-boarded off of the Daimyo's face out the exit, causing the Daimyo to fall back with a thud.

On all fours, he quickly ran towards the nearest alley, hoping to outrun or hide away from the guards. When he got to the alleyway, he bumped into someone's leg, causing him to fall back. He then suddenly heard chuckling, and looking up, saw that it was the person he ran into laughing at him.

"Man, you're real idiot." The person said while chuckling. He looked like a feral teenage human wearing a hooded grey coat, pointed red tattoo marks on his cheeks, sharp looking teeth and nails. On his shoulder was a small white puppy the same size as Ishi, who was also laughing at him.

'What was that jerk?' Ishi barked out in anger.

'If you're going to act the part of a human, you should learn to speak their language first.' The puppy on the boys shoulder barked.

"You see, humans don't speak our bestial tongue, to them, you just sound like an annoying yipping fox." The boy stated with a grin.

Before Ishi could reply, he suddenly heard the sound of the guards heading his way. Thinking quickly, Ishi decided to hide behind some trash containers, hoping the two guards won't find him.

"I think I saw it go down this way!" they ran down the alleyway, and ended up stopping in front of the feral human. "Hey kid! Have you seen a small fox run by here?"

"You know, I don't like the way you asked me that." The feral teen stated, slightly annoyed. "When someone talks to me like that, it usually pisses me off. Also, I'm not a kid." He then began to flex his clawed fingers, making a cracking noise as he did.

"Just answer the question, kid." The guards stated, hovering their hands over their katanas.

"Pfft! Typical humans. You get your hands on some weapons, and you think your superior to anyone who is unarmed." The teen stated angrily. "And I won't repeat myself again, I am not a kid." He then began to bare his sharp teeth and growl.

The two guards then drew their swords and shifted into their battle stances. "We will ask one more time, have you seen a small fox pass by here?" They stated angrily.

"And what if I have? Then what?" He asked with an edge in his voice.

"If you know anything, you better tell us! We are on orders from the Daimyo to capture that fox using any means necessary." One of the guards stated sternly.

"Oooh! The Daimyo! I'm so scared I think I'm going to run with my tail between my legs." The feral boy stated sarcastically. "To be honest, I'm more scared of that pile of trash than of the Daimyo."

"Why you! You will pay for insulting the Daimyo." The two guards then charged towards him, both katanas raised to take his head.

The feral teen simply smirked, ducking the slash while his puppy jumped in the air to avoid being slashed as well. Suddenly, the feral teen was in front within the soldiers guard, chopping the man's sword hand, disarming him, and finally, he elbowed the guard in the chin, knocking the guard back.

As for the puppy, while in mid-air, there was a sudden puff of smoke, and from the smoke appeared an exact duplicate of the feral teen. As he fell, he aimed himself for the second guard, hammering balled fist into the guards head, causing the guard to fall forward, landing face first on the ground.

The guards got back up from the ground, rattled and slightly in pain, and when they saw the feral looking twins, their bravado and resolve had instantly broken.

"Wha-what are they? Some kind of demon?" One of the guards stuttered.

At that moment, both of the twins gave a crazed grin, a bloodthirsty look in their eyes. "You hear that Akamaru? They think we're demons!" One of the teens stated.

"Typical of humans. They don't even know what we are, Kiba. They see something they don't understand, and they mark it as evil, a demon or a monster." Stated the now named Akamaru.

"They're close, though. As for what we are, we're Inugami!" the now named Kiba said in a low growling voice.

At this point, the two guards now both feared for their lives. They had heard of tales of how Inugami were like dog versions of the Kitsune, but fiercer and they act on their own impulses. They also knew to never make an Inugami mad, for it could mean suffering the savage wrath of the Inugami.

"So what's it going be? Overlook this area and not say anything? Or, invoke the wrath of two dog spirits? Which would you prefer?" Akamaru asked in sickly sweet sadistic tone.

"J-just be-because you're a dog spirit doesn't mean we will retreat. You two are still only look like kids." They then grabbed their swords, and blindly charged the two dog teens.

"Pathetic." Kiba mumbled.

"Let's teach them a lesson, bro!" Akamaru said with a feral grin.

They then knelt down putting each other's hands together, their hair standing on end, and then they both pushed on each other, spinning as they did. Suddenly, the spinning became faster, gathering wind around the two bodies, forming horizontal cyclones, spinning right towards the guards.

"**Fang Over Fang**" they both yelled out.

The guards tried to bring their swords down, but the spinning cyclones collided with the katana, and shattered the metal like a blade through paper. It was at that moment the brothers slowed their spin, becoming visible again. The guards unable to react were both punched in the face towards each other, their heads butting into each other, slumping down to the ground unconscious.

"Pfft. You are fortunate that my bro and I only kill for food, and we already ate." Kiba stated in annoyance.

In a puff of smoke, Akamaru turned back into a puppy, his tail wagging and tongue hanging out. 'Thanks for holding back bro!' He barked happily.

Ishi was amazed at what he saw. Being young, Ishi had never heard of Ishigami, and when he heard of dogs, he always thought of them as happy go lucky idiots who don't mind serving someone. These two dogs, though, were amazing, very strong, and they knew how to transform.

'That was cool the way you took care of those guys!' Ishi yipped out.

"Next time, don't bring your problems to us, because we're not going to help you out!" Kiba smugly stated.

'Who said I needed your help, I was doing just fine!' Ishi barked angrily.

'Yeah! We saw you running! Nice try though.' Akamaru barked out sarcastically.

'What was that? Why don't you say that again?' Ishi barked angrily.

'What's even more embarrassing is that we are actually the same age as you.' Akamaru barked smugly.

"Akamaru, don't tell him that." Kiba yelled angrily, not liking being called a kid. He then decided to insult the fox a little more. "Maybe you could try something like that again when your older, like when you have two tails. Hah." Kiba insulted. "Come on Akamaru, let's go!"

Akamaru then jumped on Kiba's shoulder again, and before Ishi could say anything else, the two dogs vanished, disappearing in a cloud of dust, their laughs all that remain.

To say that Ishi was ticked off was an understatement. What stung even more was that he actually could take the two guards on, but wasn't interested in fighting them. He knew he was strong already, but he needed to be stronger to be respected it would seem.

"Moan…" The two guards began to stir, and when they saw the fox, they got back up, broken swords in hand, and got ready to capture the fox.

Ishi was currently ticked; he did not want to mess with anything now.

**Bam!**

Ishi rammed his head into one guards head, breaking the helmet, and knocking the guy out. He then transformed into the guard, tackling the other guard, and then head butting him, knocking the guard out.

He then huffed, glad that was out of his system, and then walked away.

"Moan…" mumbled the two unconscious guards

* * *

Ishi decided to forget today's events, and continue trying to find the great Sage. He had been walking through the town, realizing he didn't even know what a Sage looked like. So he thought he would keep moving and might find something that didn't look natural, or human for that matter, someone who would stick out. His mind began thinking of weird things like a giant humanoid slug, a horse with a whale's head, or an ox with octopus tentacles. The last one was a bit weird to him. No, scratch that, all the above was weird.

As he traveled the town, he didn't pay attention to where he was going. He then noticed a sound of laughter; it was light laughter, very feminine. He looked and saw he was next to a fence that had a small hole close to the ground. He decided to peek to see what it was that was so amusing.

What he saw will forever haunt him. It was at that moment he now knew two things about humans. First, he now knew why humans would wear clothing despite it being so uncomfortable. He realized that the humans, unlike animals, didn't have enough fur on their bodies to properly cover and keep warm. Second, he now knew that it doesn't matter what species you are, a female is very nice looking and attractive.

"I hope what you saw provided you with some type of… enlightenment." said a voice close to Ishi.

Ishi turned to the right a saw a human wearing a green hooded cloak. Nothing seemed weird about the guy, except that he was huge, with red lines going down his cheeks, a metal plate with the kanji for oil on his forehead, and Geta red wooden sandals.

Ishi looked up and wasn't sure if he was talking to him. He looked around, but saw no one.

"Quite a sight, wasn't it? Most men rarely have the pleasure to see such a marvel." The man stated. "You look lost; may I be of assistance young kitsune?"

Ishi guessed he must be talking to him, so he decided to go ahead and ask. 'I heard there was a great Sage in the area, and I have been trying to find him with little luck.'

"What would you do when you met this Sage?" the man asked.

'I want to become strong so everyone can finally show me respect.' Ishi answered truthfully.

"I see. You can find the Great Sage on top of that mountain. But I heard he will only accept those who climb it all the way to the top." He pointed toward a very tall mountain overlooking the village. The mountain was big, and had vertical sides and a flattop.

Ishi stared at the mountain in awe, and when he turned to thank the man, the man was gone.

'Well, I might as well try and climb it. The Sage ain't going to wait forever.' Ishi thought.

* * *

At the foot of the mountain, Ishi stared up, marveling at the sheer height of the mountain.

'Wow. It's huge.' Ishi thought to himself. 'Better start climbing.'

He extended his claws, and began to slowly scale the wall. He suddenly slipped, causing him to fall to the ground on his butt. He growled in annoyance, got back up, and then started climbing again, only moving his paws in a frenzied movement this time.

He was getting much higher up then last time, starting to make some progress, already twenty feet off the ground. At least until his paw slipped again, causing him to fall towards the ground, landing this time on his head, causing a small crater in the ground, and his head to get stuck.

With some effort, he got his head out of the ground, and then began to try again, growling in frustration.

* * *

After many failed attempts, and many falls that he somehow survived, he finally began to make some progress. With paws bloodied, and covered in cuts and bruises from his constant falling, he was now a 1000 feet in the air, a couple ten thousand feet still to go.

Gritting his teeth, he continued onward, now reaching the height where a fall would now prove fatal for even him. He knew he could just as well transform into something that could probably climb this height, or even fly over the mountain, but he knew the Sage would only accept those who climbed it all the way to the top.

Plus, in his mind, he had something to prove; he knew he could climb it, and he wasn't going to make a liar out of himself. If he was to transform, it wouldn't prove anything, and his pride would gain nothing from it. He was pushing by both his will, and his ego.

* * *

He continued to climb, not wishing to stop, knowing that if he did, it would be the end of him. Hours continued to pass by, and he was still only a third of the way there. Fatigue and hunger began to strike him, added to the pain in his paws and hind legs, making the climb even more strenuous. Many would have probably have given in, and allowed death to take them. But this young kit was going to make it to the top.

What Ishi saw, though, made him almost have tears come to his eyes, for twenty feet up, he spotted a tree branch, which to him was like an oasis in the desert right now. The branch would offer him reprieve, and if he was lucky, a bird's nest may be up in it to eat from, and if not, maybe nuts or berries. He just had to go twenty feet more, and then he could take a break. He just hoped the branch was bigger than him, and strong enough to support him.

He clawed ever closer, foot by foot, keeping his eyes and mind on that branch, ignoring everything else, including his fatigue and pain.

Suddenly, his paw slipped, and he began to fall. Before he could fall too far, he used his paw to try and catch himself, but the speed of the fall was causing him to lose traction, continuing his descent. He quickly used his other paw to help try regaining traction, until finally it caught, stopping his fall.

He laid his head on the cliff wall, eyes closed and breathing heavy, trying to catch his breath and slow his heart rate. He chose to look back up after gaining his breath, and saw that the branch was now forty feet away. He sighed in sadness, nearly coming to tears for coming so close, only to slip up and end up farther away.

He then wiped his tears on his front legs, gritted his teeth, a new determined look in his eyes, and then continued upward.

By the time he came close to the branch, his paws were practically raw, his fur matted with dried blood, his stomach aching from the constant pain, and his mind on the brink of slipping into unconsciousness.

He grabbed the branch with his teeth, thankful that it was indeed a large thick branch, and then climbed himself over the branch, collapsing with his legs and front legs hugging the branch, stomach down. He was too tired to move, so he allowed himself to nod off, receiving his well deserved deep sleep.

* * *

He slept for nearly a day and a half, staying in that position for the whole time. When he finally came too, he looked up to see the leaves of the branch. He quickly remembered where he was, and tried to get up, only for his four legs to give out, and return to his sleeping position. He was sore, but more than that, he was hungry.

Using his chin, he dragged himself to the leaves to see if it had any food. He looked, and all he saw were a few nuts, and some grubs.

Well, beggars can't be choosers, so Ishi used his head and mouth, and dug in, grabbing whatever he could with his mouth to feed himself.

* * *

He spent the rest of the day on that branch resting and regaining his strength. When he was strong enough, he got back up, and started climbing again.

With renewed strength, the climb was much easier, and he was going at a steady pace.

Because he didn't his energy trying to learn to properly climb this cliff, he had enough energy this time around to make the climb a bit easier.

* * *

He was now only nine-tenths closer. He knew he was going to finish it today, he could feel it. This added to his enthusiasm, giving him a burst of adrenaline, pushing even faster towards the top, eyes beginning to glow red.

'I'm going to make it! I'm going to make it! I'm going to freakin' make it!' Ishi thought out in his mind.

He saw the cliff edge coming up, and using everything he had and more; he pushed to the top, coming over the edge, and jumped to the ground.

'MADE IT!!!' Ishi barked out.

Ishi was happy. He made it to the top; he finally made it to the top. He then looked up, his blue eyes sparkling in amazement, for up on the top of the mountain, it was a large forest full of life, but in front of Ishi was a huge Golden Gate.

'This must be it! I am going to finally meet the Sage.'

* * *

**I am not very satisfied with this chapter, but I had to get it out of the way so I could move on to the real story, and also introduce some more characters. **

**For Kiba and Akamaru, I wanted them to be like brothers, one who prefers to look human, the other prefering to look real. Also, while Kiba is someone who acts before he looks, I thought Akamaru being someone who thinks things through might balance the two.**

**Inugami- an __****inugami** (犬神, lit. "dog god") is a type of shikigami (式神), similar to a familiar spirit, resembling, and usually originating from, a dog, and most commonly carrying out vengeance or acting as guardians on behalf of the inugami-mochi, or "_inugami_ owner". _Inugami_ are extremely powerful and capable of existing independently, as well as turning on their "owners" and even possessing humans. In the Oki Islands, the _inugami_ takes on the function that the _kitsune_ (fox) holds in many other regions of Japan.

**And theirs that fun fact. Also, don't be afraid to check out my Profile for those who are interested in some Fanfic challenges. Give it a shot, and let me know.**

**Next Chapter: My Name Is...**

**Please Review**

**Signed,**

**Mr. Nobody**


	5. My Name Is

**Mr. Nobody: I apologise for the long wait to all of my readers. But college can be really distracting. I also apologise if this chapter is a bit mediocre compared to my past works, but I soon lost inspration, and when I had it, I was distracted a lot by other things. Please do enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 4- My Name is…**

'I finally made it… now I just got to open this really big door, and I will finally meet this Sage.' Ishi thought to himself.

Ishi began to move toward the Golden Gate, finding it to be as big as four bears standing on top of the other's shoulders, and as wide as two of the Ichiraku ramen carts put together. It was huge.

Ishi went up to the door on the left, and with all the might in his little body, began to push as hard as he could. Finally, the heavy door began creaking open, and when the opening was big enough for Ishi to fit through, he squeezed in, and popped right inside. What surprised him was not the fact that the place was huge and very peaceful looking, or the very large dojo meant for training in the middle. It was the fact that the place was filled with other people, all of them training and dressed in a white Gi.

'What the hey? I thought this place was a private training place. I wasn't expecting the Sage to have more than one pupil. Damn.' Ishi thought to himself.

One of the pupils noticed Ishi, and then suddenly a malicious sneer appeared on his face. "Hey look guys, new meat."

All of them looked up and stared at Ishi, most of them with a sinister look in their eyes. They suddenly began to move around Ishi, surrounding him in a circle. "Don't you know this is an adult's place? So what are you doing here kid? "

Ishi swallowed a hard knot in his throat, and then boldly spoke. 'I am here to receive training from the Sage!'

They all laughed at him. "Can you believe this kid; he actually thinks he's worthy of receiving training from the Master. Why don't you go home to your mommy and come back in a hundred years or so when you're all grown up." Everyone continued to laugh and mock Ishi, his anger becoming apparent with a growl.

"Hey, don't get upset kid, how about this. If you can pass the three tests to prove yourself worthy of the Master, then you can receive training from him. If not, then we will personally throw you off this mountain. If you fail even one test, then you fail them all." The biggest guy there stated.

'Alright, fine, I will prove myself worthy of the Sage's training.' Ishi yelled out boldly.

* * *

A really skinny guy stood opposite of Ishi in the center of the training field, everyone surrounding the two in a circle. He sneered at Ishi with a mousy grin; his buck teeth almost making him look like a mouse.

"Alright, the first test is weapon's skill, how good are you at wielding a weapon." Everyone chuckled at this, due to the fact that Ishi had no hands to wield a weapon.

The big guy from earlier walked in-between the two combatants, looking at both of them, trying to act seriously, but he was having difficulty holding a straight face. "Alright, choose your weapon. The fight will continue until one is knocked out. No killing blows." The big guy stated.

The students then brought out a rack full of different types of weapons, simple training weapons that were dully crafted, but still effective.

The mousy guy Ishi was facing chooses a pair of wooden Tonfas, twirling them in his arms to show off. Ishi looked at the different weapons, thinking over what ones would suit him. He saw a demon Iron Club, but brushed the idea off when he realized it was too big and heavy for him. He saw some swords, but after thinking about it realized that without hands it would be dangerous for him to wield. He looked over a variety of other weapons until he spotted a wooden Bo staff. For some reason, the staff just called to him, and he knew that this was the weapon meant for him, so he picked the staff to wield.

"This is going to be quick. I'm a 7th seat disciple and a master of using a Tonfa as a primary weapon." The mousy guy sneered.

'I don't care if you're a she-man and know how to pleasure yourself with those two sticks; I'm still going to kick your ass!' Ishi insulted through clenched teeth holding the staff.

"Why you! You'll pay for that insult." The mousy guy charged forward, Tonfa spinning rapidly, going in for the strike. Ishi quickly jumped in the air to avoid a hit to his front legs. "Now I got you!" the mousy guy yelled out, pulling his other Tonfa back, preparing to strike. He then swung the Tonfa hard, aiming for Ishi's back hoping to catch him in midair.

Ishi acted quickly, rotating his body in midair, bringing the staff up to block the attack. The two weapons impacted, but since Ishi was in midair, he had no ground in which to push against, and was thus thrown back by the force of the attack. Like any fox would, he landed gracefully on all fours, preparing for the next attack.

'He's quick with those sticks, and he can use both of them to either attack, defend, or both. He might be a jerk, but he's strong. I'm going to have to be a little more cautious.' Ishi thought to himself, staring down his opponent expectantly.

The mousy guy began to charge again, Tonfa spinning rapidly. He thrusted one forward, attempting to hit Ishi in the side of the face, but Ishi jumped back in time, so the mousy guy continued his assault, Ishi continuously jumping back. Ishi kept jumping back until he bumped into the border of the circle, the big guy, and found himself distracted long enough for a hit to the head to occur. The mousy guy, thinking he'd won, decided to keep beating on Ishi, beating his head continuously, getting a sick pleasure from doing so.

What he didn't realize was that Ishi's skull was made of stone, and so, no head trauma was occurring. He kept swinging the Tonfa into Ishi's head until he tried striking the head with both Tonfa, and suddenly, both of them shattered from the impact.

"What the…?" questioned the mousy guy.

Ishi took this moment to swing his staff, sweeping the man's legs from under him, causing the man to fall. Ishi move quickly, using the staff to pole-vault in the air, head butted the guy in the head, effectively knocking him out.

'Whew! I will admit, that was tough. But I still beat you in the end. Hahaha.' Ishi laughed.

Everyone stood mouth agape, shocked, bug-eyed, and speechless. He defeated a 7th seat disciple in under three minutes. A great portion of the disciples were either 8th seat or 9th seat, so they realized that he could take most of them on in combat.

'Ok, I am ready for the next challenge. Who's next?' Ishi taunted.

Snapping out of their stupor, the big guy suddenly came out to announce the next test. "The next challenge will be a challenge of speed."

A tall lanky man stepped forward, his face resembling a cat's sneer. "I'm you're next opponent! I 'm a 5th seat disciple, you do not stand a chance against my speed." he stated.

'Ok, bring it on buddy.' Ishi boasted.

* * *

The group went outside to the edge of the mountain.

The big guy walked right into the front of the two racers, looking at both of them. He then drew a line in the dirt in front of them. "The rule is this, one lap around the basin. I will act as the ref when someone crosses; whoever passes the line first is the winner."

Ishi looked to his opponent who seemed awfully full of himself.

"On your Mark!" the big guy yelled out.

The two contestants stood next the big guy, getting into a running stance.

"Get set!" The big guy yelled, lifting his arms into the air.

Ishi glanced over at his opponent, and the weirdest thing happened. The Lanky man's body began to shift and change, covering him in black spots and a tail that grew out his lower back, his features becoming more cat-like. 'What the?' Ishi yelped in surprise.

"And go!" The big guy quickly said.

_**Zoom!**_

The lanky man suddenly zoomed at incredible speeds, Ishi still stunned by what he saw, remained gawking at the smoke cloud in the shape of the man left behind.

'Holy shit, what was that?' Ishi yelled out.

"You might want to start running if you want to catch up. That is unless you really want to be thrown off the mountain." The big guy sneered.

The other pupils also began to sneer, saying things like, "you might as well give up," "that guy is one of our fastest guys around, you'll never catch him," "just give up!"

'Never catch him? I won't know unless I try.' Ishi then began to brace his legs to burst into running. 'Alright, here I go.'

_**Zoom!**_

Suddenly, Ishi vanished in a burst of speed, the wind picking up behind him in a slight breeze. Yet again, everyone stood mouth agape, shocked, bug-eyed, and speechless.

* * *

The cat-like man had a snide smirk on his, chuckling as he ran. 'This race is in the bag. No way can that kid catch up with me now. Might as well reserve my energy and strength, don't want to be tired to put in today's training.' He then began to slow slightly, at least marginally, looking as though he was casually jogging.

"I was going to take a stroll around the basin top anyways for my morning jog; this at least takes care of that!" The man stated happily.

'No wonder you're so fast, if you jog this far every day.' Ishi stated right next to him.

"GAH! HOW DID YOU CATCH UP WITH ME?" The man yelled.

'I ran.' Ishi said cheekily.

The man began to pick up speed, trying to outrun Ishi, but Ishi matched his speed. The man tried running faster, but Ishi caught up yet again. Sweat began to pour down the man's face, and an angry expression adorned it. Ishi on the other hand was as cool as cucumber; he even had a competitive look on his face.

Whenever the other fox kits challenged Ishi to a race, he would always win, which made the others upset sometimes, and usually they would never challenge him again. Ishi never knew he could move this fast because he never had the opportunity to do so. Because of this race, no because of being here, Ishi was pushed toward his limit, getting a chance to actually show his stuff. In other words, for the first time in his young life, he was having fun.

The other guy, on the other hand, was not.

"That's it! I ain't going to lose to a brat like you!" The man suddenly crouched down onto all fours, and his body began to shift becoming even more cat like as yellow and white fur began to cover his body, accompanying his black dots. All in all, he resembled a cheetah.

'What the?' Ishi questioned.

"This is my true form, no one has ever outrun me in this form. Let's see you try now!" The cheetah then ran with a burst of speed, getting way ahead of Ishi.

'Ah man, that's fast.' Ishi yelled. 'I'm going to have to give it my all!' Using all of the muscles in his leg's strength, Ishi began to push himself, becoming faster, slowly catching up. For the first time, Ishi was feeling a pounding in his chest and straining in his legs. He was reaching his limit, but he was not going to quit.

Ishi eventually caught up with the cheetah, and they soon became neck in neck in the race, both beginning to show signs of fatigue, Ishi struggling to keep up.

Ishi's legs were burning, his body becoming drenched in his own sweat. 'Not going to give up. Got to keep going.' His lungs were stabbing with unbearable pain, 'I can't give up, and I will never give up!' His heart was beating faster than it ever did before; feeling like it was going to burst at any moment. 'I am going to WIN!'

Suddenly, his eyes changed from the color of ocean blue to the color of blood red, his features becoming more feral and aggressive, red energy beginning to surround him. All the pain of his body began to dissipate, and wash away, and Ishi began to feel as though running with a cheetah was feeling much easier now. He was doing more than keeping up; he was beginning to pass to him.

Thoughts of doubt began to play through the cheetah's mind. 'I don't believe this. He's actually catching up with me. Not just that, he's beginning to pass me. That's impossible! What is this kid?'

The temple was in sight, and the crowd was coming up, they were almost there. Both combatants were giving there all. It was going to be close. With a final leap, both soared into the air, diving for the finish line. When they landed, their bodies dragged on the ground from the inertia of velocity from moving so fast. Huge clouds of dust covered the area, hiding the crowd from knowing who the winner was.

When the dust settled, the cheetah looked up with a pant, breathing heavily to reclaim the missed oxygen for his body. He looked at his paw to see that it was just a centimeter away from the finish line. He then looked over at Ishi to see that half of Ishi's arm was across the finish line.

The Cheetah looked shocked, and then he suddenly fainted from exhaustion from over running.

'Looks like 'huff' I won that one. Huff. Huff.' Ishi stated tiredly, a huge grin adorning his face, his eyes back to being the sapphire blue shade, his features returning to normal. He then rested his head down for a moment of reprieve.

* * *

Giving the kit a few minutes to rest, the pupils then brought him back inside of the temple, forming another circle around him and the big guy.

"You may have beaten the first two guys, but no way will you win this one." The crowd started. Ishi was a bit tired, and they knew that. They planned on making him too tired for the final challenge.

'Whatever. Bring it on! I'll do whatever it takes to win.' Ishi stated. In truth, Ishi was so tired, he just wanted to get this over with, and call it a day.

"For your next challenge, you must beat me in hand to hand combat." The big guy yelled. "But good luck with that. I am the Master's 3rd seat disciple. And physically, I am one of the strongest." Suddenly, the Big guys muscles began to bulge, becoming bulky and bulbous, four horns adorned his head and fangs adorned his lower jaw, his hair becoming long, wild and orange, and his skin became brick red. The already big guy was now enormous, standing at least 7ft tall with shoulders the length of 4ft. Compared to a normal size guy, he was huge. To Ishi though, who is a normal size fox kit, he was massive.

'Damn it. He's bigger than I thought.' Ishi said out loud. He then began to charge the big guy, hoping to use his stone skull to injure the giant. 'You know what they say! The bigger they are the harder they…'

**Bam!**

The big guy slightly held his stomach in pain, while Ishi was actually seeing birds and stars, stumbling back and forth from the impact. 'Ooh. Pretty stars and birdies.' Ishi slurred.

"Damn, I felt that. That kid's got a hard head. My stomach's going to be sore in the morning." The big guy grumbled, still holding his stomach.

"Just make sure you don't get hit in the head, or you're done for." The mousy guy from earlier stated, some bandages wrapped around his.

"Yeah yeah. I got it." The big guy began to move towards Ishi, raising his massive tree trunk arms in the air, planning on smashing Ishi into the ground. Ishi was still a bit loopy, so he did not see the giant pair of hands coming down on him. His small head and body were smashed into the ground, his head taking the blunt of the damage. The big guy didn't stop, continuing to beat Ishi relentlessly into the ground, making a small crater in the ground. After a minute of continuingly beating him, the big guy finally stopped, half of Ishi's body stuck in the ground, his feet sticking out.

"Whoa man. Don't you think you went a little far with the kid?" Someone the audience asked.

"After what I've seen him do today, best not to take chances. Besides, didn't the Master say that it is best not to underestimate an opponent?" The big guy answered.

'Then I guess you don't know about not turning your back on your opponent.' A voice rang.

The big turned around just in time for a grip of sharp teeth to latch onto his nose. "AHH AHA! GET HIM OFF ME! AH HA!" the big guy was now flailing about with a battered Ishi latching on to his nose, not letting go, some blood seeping through his teeth. While hanging on, Ishi began to claw all over the big guy's face, tearing a bit of the large man's flesh.

Ishi let go of the nose when the giant tried to grab at him, then jumped off his head into the air to avoid being caught. He then twisted his body using gravity to fall towards the big guy's injured face, falling headfirst for a head butt.

**Bam!**

The giant cried out in pain, blood pouring freely from his face. Ishi had felt the hit, but despite his slight dizziness, he brought his head up again, and rammed it down on the big guy's head again and again.

**Bam! Bam! Bam!**

He kept ramming his head into the giant until the big guy finally fell over, knocked unconscious. Ishi could feel his blood flowing down his head, along with a splitting headache. 'Man! That guy's head was hard, but not as hard as my head. Looks like I passed all the tests.'

"Hey guys, are we going to let this nobody show us up?" A man in the crowd said. All of the pupils had an angry look in their eyes. "I say let's throw him off anyway." Someone stated. The large group began to advance on Ishi, throwing punches and kicks at the tired out Ishi, some even hitting him with blunt weapons.

'Damn it! I'm too tired to move.' Ishi clenched his eyes shut, enduring the pain of the onslaught.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" a voice yelled out.

At that moment, all the pupils stopped their attacks. Ishi opened his eyes to see the person himself, but due to fatigue, his vision had become very blurry. All he could see were two figures standing at the entrance of the temple.

"I-it's Sensei's 2nd seat disciples." Someone in the crowd stuttered in fear.

"Well? Is someone going to answer my question?" The first voice spoke, sounding very gruff.

Everyone remained quiet, not wishing to answer the question.

"Let me guess, guys…" a second spoke, slightly calmer, and almost in a happy-go-lucky mood. "You guys were putting another potential student through your so-called "initiation" for receiving training from Sensei, and when the newbie turned out to be better than you guy's thought, you got upset and beat him to a pulp. Am I close?"

Again, everyone was silent.

The second figure looked around, and then gave off a whistle. "Wow, he beat a 7th, 5th and 3rd seat disciple. That is impressive."

"You assholes know that Sensei forbade you guys from pulling this kind of stunt. Or did you guys have your heads up your asses when he said so?" The first stated a very annoyed tone in his voice.

"Bro is right. Sensei is going to be really pissed with you guys. You know better than to pull stuff like this when he is out doing his errands." The second guy stated calmly.

At this point, Ishi's vision finally faded, and everything went black, Ishi going out like a light.

* * *

A few hours later…

Ishi awoke on something soft, something comfortable. He never laid on anything so soft. His nose caught the whiff of white flowers in hot water.

"Finally awake, eh?" Ishi opened his eyes to the voice, and what he spotted was a large man, with a wild flowing mane of white hair, red lines marked on his cheeks, and wearing a red vest, and green haori pants. "Those idiot disciples of mine really did rough you up. But you should be fine after some rest. Here, have a little bit of tea; it should soothe your aches." The man was sitting at a desk, writing on a scroll with an ink and brush.

"Who are you?" Ishi asked.

"Who am I?" He suddenly jumped up from where he sat. "In the North, South, East, and West… Evil shutters at the mention of my name." He grabbed two bangs of his white mane of hair, and began to twirl it around. "I am the one who was given the title of 'Young Thunder' by the gods themselves." He started jumping on one foot, taking a stance similar to a kabuki. "I am the great Sage of the mountain, the wizard of over seventy techniques, the hermit who the ladies fawn over, and the bane of evil monsters everywhere." He stopped hopping on his leg, and suddenly a giant toad appeared, and he took a pose on top of it. "The Gallant Jiraiya!"

Ishi weirdly stared at the man, some sweat coming down his face. 'This guys the Sage?'

"But that is not important. What's important is not who I am, but who you are?" Jiraiya stated.

Ishi quickly tried to get up on all fours, and looked Jiraiya in the eyes. 'Master Sage, my name is Ishi no Kitsune and I wish to undergo your training.'

"Very well, but first you must pass an awesome test to prove yourself." Jiraiya stated in a wild fashion.

"But I already passed the test those jerks gave me… at least, I think I did…" Ishi stated.

"That wasn't the test… my idiot disciples were messing with you, but got a bit jealous when they saw your great potential. I assure you, they are being well punished and taken care of…" Jiraiya mused.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the training ground…

All of the students from earlier were cleaning out a large empty tub covered with grime and grease, among other things, toad statues as the faucets for the water. "I can't believe we have to clean out the Master's bathtub." One random disciple stated.

"I can't believe he never bothered to have it cleaned in the first place. I think this yuck must be centuries old." Stated the cat-like disciple stated.

"Well, you got to remember; he does share this tub with toads…" The mousy guy stated.

"This is absolutely disgusting." A random disciple stated.

"Quit your belly aching. The more we work, the sooner we get this job done." The big guy stated, a bandage wrapped around his head and face.

One of the younger disciples approached a big pile of yuck. As he was cleaning it with a brush, his arm was suddenly sucked into the blob. "AHH! Help me, I'm sinking in!"

A couple other random disciples grabbed the sinking idiot, only to have themselves pulled in as well, completely consumed or gobbled up. Out of the blob came out a small gourd shaped toad, lightly burping before placing a cork over his mouth. The other disciples decided to ignore this, going back to working as quick as possible, hoping they don't become a toad's lunch.

* * *

"The real test depends on what you are…" Jiraiya stated.

'What do you mean?' Ishi asked.

"I am someone who isn't concerned with who or what the person I teach is. I am just concerned with the potential that person has, and if I am able to teach them." He went on to explain.

"If a human was to be tested, it would be a test of skill and strength. I would give them time to build up their body's skill, speed, and strength to be on par with a demon or an animal. That way, they would not be left behind with the other students." Jiraiya lectured.

"If it is a demon, the test would be to act as human as possible. I would give the supplies and the knowledge, as well as time to meet the requirements to be able to hide among humans. That includes the ability to look human and to act human. This way, they will not be such proud bastards when I teach them." Jiraiya took a moment to drink some tea to calm his nerves, and gathered himself to continue his lecture.

"But, for an animal, they must do the same thing as a demon, but also must learn to speak and read in human tongue and take human form, due to the fact that most of the techniques I teach require human hands. To be performed. They must also be willing to abandon their animal name, and be willing to make a human name for themselves."

'Say what? You expect me to try and become human?' Ishi asked incredulously.

"Not become human, just act the part. If you can't talk or look human, you won't be able to perform the training errands for me when I ask you to go to the village. If you don't have the human body, you won't be able to perform the tasks that only humans can do. If you can't read human literature, you won't be able to have access to my technique scrolls, leaving you behind all the others in knowledge." Jiraiya stated.

Ishi thought about, and realized that he was only able to learn the transformation ability because he asked Kabuto to read the scroll for him. What the Sage said made some sense.

"I am not one to waste time teaching an ignorant. So to learn from me, you must meet the requirements. The test will be in three months from now. If you haven't met all the requirements by then, you are not worthy of my teachings. Now, I'm not too cruel, so I will give you a day of tutoring to help you out each month, but other than that, you're on you own. Do you think you can meet the requirements before the time is up?" Jiraiya sternly asked.

Ishi then attempted to stand on his hind legs, and began to boast again. 'Three months? I'll have your stupid requirements met at the end of one. Believe it!'

"Really? One month? Well, someone's really confident. Alright then, if you can meet the minimum of the requirements by the end of this month, I'll not only train you, I'll also make you a fourth seat disciple. But if you fail, you'll never attempt to train under me again. Is that understood?" Jiraiya firmly stated.

'Bring it on, Old man! I can take anything you throw at me.' Ishi yelled.

"Kiba! Akamaru! Get in here you two!" Jiraiya yelled.

The entrance opened up to reveal two very familiar figures to Ishi. 'Y-YOU TWO? WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE!' Ishi yelled out.

"Well, well. If it isn't the brat… didn't expect to see you here." Kiba barked out with a smirk.

"Hey there kit. How're you doing?" Akamaru asked in pleasant tone, tongue hanging out of his mouth in his dog form, sitting on top of Kiba's head.

'Answer my damn question! What are you two assholes doing here?' Ishi yelled out.

"These two assholes are my 2nd seat disciples and my strongest students by far." Jiraiya sternly stated. "They are also the ones who will be over seeing your progress for me."

"WHAT!" Both Ishi and Kiba yelled out load.

"There is no way my bro and I are going to be stuck babysitting some brat!" Kiba yelled out.

'Like I even want you guys to watch me.' Ishi yelled out.

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Jiraiya yelled out. "I am a very busy Sage, and have other tasks that I must attend to, and I don't have time to watch someone I may not even train." Jiraiya yelled at Ishi. "As for you two. You two are my highest seat disciples, so you should know better then to question my methods. Not only that, I know that you two are gunning for the unoccupied and unattained 1st seat. How do you expect to raise your ranks if you can't even supervise one kit, and become a 20th seat disciple?" Jiraiya mocked.

Kiba blanched, and then grumbled a bit. "Damn sadistic Sensei who likes to blackmail us with that position…" Kiba mumbled.

"What my brother means, sir, is that we will watch this kit like our own little brother." Akamaru stated with a nervous smile.

"Very good now. I will be tutoring you today. But after that, I'll be gone for a month. When I get back, I will test you. If you aren't ready by then, you can forget about any special training." Jiraiya stated. 'If the kid actually shows some potential, I'll give him another chance if he doesn't meet the requirements. I just won't give him any special training. After he was able to stand up to my 7th, 5th, and 3rd seat disciples, I would be a fool to ignore potential like that.' Jiraiya thought with a smirk to himself.

* * *

Ishi will admit, when Jiraiya started him off on what he was supposed to learn, he had serious trouble at first. Learning the ABC's is very difficult to acknowledge, and for that matter speak as well. His first day was an utter failure, and he still hadn't come up with a good human name for himself.

What's more, he had to do all of the lessons in human form. He had never held a transformation for so long. He at first tried making himself look like Jiraiya for his form, but he found out he was supposed to have a form of his own design. This was very tough; as he always turned into something he's seen before, giving him a clear image. But he had no clue what he was going to look like, and thus had no clear focus on the details for the form.

Plus, it was a real strain to just stay standing on two legs, or shaping his voice to speak in human tongue. To make sure he would have both down, he refused to speak in his normal tongue, and always walked on his hind legs, even in his normal form. He was glad he had already got transformation down so well already, he just needed to think of his true form. In the mean time while he trains, he would take the form of one of the disciples, or random humans he met or seen to practice on anything requiring hands.

To make matters harder, Kiba and Akamaru would keep pestering him and badgering him. When they said they would treat him like a little brother, they meant a brother they liked to pick on. Throughout the day time, the two would honestly give Ishi an absolute hard time. Fortunately, the difficult time the two gave Ishi helped to motivate him just to do better at learning insults in human speech, in other words, better his speaking abilities.

Ishi would work his tail off, even pulling all night jobs, to make sure he would perfect his reading, and understanding of words. He would make sure he understood any and every word, so as not to make a mistake later when he would be reading scrolls later on. He would even practice learning to write with a human's hand, finding the appendage to be more difficult than his fox paws, and tended to be a bit clumsy in their movements.

While he would study and train his mind, he would often times observe the other students, taking note of any features he would want for his true form. Though the disciples didn't give him any hassles, they would send a constant glare his way or make a rude comment from behind his back.

One night, halfway through the month, Kiba and Akamaru caught sight of him working late again into the night. They had both, over time, gained a bit of respect for his tenacity, and his will to not give up. So, being the more experienced, they decided to help him out a bit. It wasn't really against the rules to give a beginner some tutoring, just that none of the disciples would ever provide the help, seeing as it would cut into their own time and training. Besides, when Kiba and Akamaru first joined, they had each other to help out, not to mention three months to both work with.

Because of their help, Ishi slowly began to appreciate their aid, and now he knew he was a shoe in to succeed on his test. And as time rolled on, the lessons began to get easier thanks to the help of Kiba and Akamaru, and also the fact that whatever was drilled into Ishi's thick head was not easily forgotten. Ishi may have not been very attentive to his surroundings, but he was very smart when he put his all into anything, and never forgot anything taught to him.

* * *

"Yo Kit!" Kiba yelled out to Ishi.

"Yeah! What want breath dog?" Ishi tried to say, still working on his human speech.

"I think you mean, 'what do you want dog breath?'" Akamaru corrected. "Well, bro and I were wondering if you would like to take a break, maybe go out and get something to eat in the village. It could help you practice more with your blending in." Akamaru offered.

"Yeah, the numbskull could use all the help he could get." Kiba quipped.

Instead of retorting back with an insult of his own, Ishi thought about it. To be honest, it had been a while since he been outside of the dojo, and he could use a change in diet. Don't get him wrong, he likes rice, mashed beans, potatoes, water, and tea as much as the next person, but to have it every day can get a bit repetitive and boring.

"I wouldn't mind go guys. But how we going get down from mountain, and get back up without being noticed." Ishi stated, a slight mistake or two in his sentence.

"Leave that to us." Akamaru and Kiba both gave a feral grin, a slight twinkle in their eyes.

* * *

A little later, the group reached the edge of the cliff, Ishi in the form of a blonde haired girl with pigtails, wearing an orange Yukata, three whisker marks on her face.

"Why the hell are you in that form, aren't you a boy?" Kiba yelled out, slightly disturbed and irritated.

"I read in Sage's scrolls one time, and I noticed that human's like human female's, and often times do nice things for them. Like for instance: giving them kisses, licking them on different parts of their bodies, sucking on their nipples." Ishi listed, soon interrupted by Kiba's yelling.

"Enough! No more, I do not need to hear that perverted crap!" Kiba yelled holding his ears.

"Perverted? That's what I would do with my mom all the time." Ishi stated.

"THAT'S DIFFERENT DUMBASS!" Kiba yelled.

"I am surprised he read one of Sensei's scrolls and didn't get caught. The Sensei would be steamed if he found someone underage had read his stories." Akamaru pointed out.

"Ok, you can be in that form. But if anyone asks, we are not on a date!" Kiba yelled.

"So how we get down?" Ishi asked.

"Hold on to us…" Akamaru stated, turning into his human form, which was a twin of Kiba.

Ishi held on, and suddenly the group vanished in a cloud of dust and leaves.

In the center of the village in an alleyway, a cloud of and leaves appeared, revealing the three students.

"How do that?" Ishi yelled, ignoring his grammar.

"That was one of the perks of being Sensei's 2nd seat students. In layman's terms, it basically makes you go to your destination faster." Kiba attempted to explain.

"So kit, what do you want to eat?" Akamaru stated.

Ishi looked around the village, eyes wide. There were so many stalls and food vendors; he was having a hard time trying to decide.

"Well, what's it going to be kit?" Kiba asked impatiently.

Ishi kept looking, until he spotted something he couldn't believe. "No way. It can't be." He stated.

He then walked up to a small, rundown Raman stand, the words "Ichiraku Ramen Stand" in big letters over it. But that wasn't what caught Ishi's eye. What caught his attention were the people who were working the rundown ramen stand, an old man and his daughter. He soon made a decision. "That place. I want to eat at that place…"

"Huh? That place? But it's old and rundown." Kiba stated. He then looked at Ishi's expression, and decided to comply. "Well… it might be cheap anyways, and since bro and I are paying, I guess we could go ahead. But I better not get food poisoning, or you're dead." He relented.

"Also, disguise your voice. If you're going to make yourself look like a girl, don't sound like a boy dressed up as one." Akamaru stated.

All three walked over, and were greeted with warm, kind smiles. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen. What would you like to have?"

'I knew it. It's them… The old man and Ayame. It's good to see they are ok.' Ishi thought to himself.

"Yeah, this is our friend's first night in this village, so we thought we could try to treat her to a meal. Apparently, she chose this place." Kiba stated.

"First time, huh? Since this is your first time, and you choose to eat at this place, how about the first serving be on the house, and we'll serve you the regular stuff, just so you can try it." The old man stated.

"Really? Now that's real nice." Akamaru stated.

"Well, I guess I can't turn down a free meal." Kiba mumbled.

"Alright then. Three regular bowl servings of beef ramen, coming right up." Ayame happily stated.

After waiting a few minutes, the girl came back with three steaming bowls of ramen. "Here are your orders. Enjoy!" Ayame happily said. She then looked at Kiba and Akamaru curiously, noticing how they both look alike. "Um? Just out of curiosity, but are you two brothers?"

"Why yes, yes we are…" Akamaru stated happily before his brash brother could say anything.

Kiba and Akamaru clapped there hands together, saying, "Itadakimasu!" Ishi quickly tried to mimic them, practically mispronouncing it.

The three took a small portion of the ramen, ready to taste their meal. As it reached their mouths, all three were suddenly bombarded with an explosion of delicious flavor.

'This is good. This stuff is actually good…' Kiba thought to himself, quickly shoveling another portion into his mouth.

'I did not expect the ramen to be so delicious. I knew it smelled good, but the flavor is amazing.' Akamaru thought to himself, almost tempted to lap up the contents of his bowl using his tongue.

'Just as good as remember, no, even better.' Ishi happily thought to himself, trying to avoid letting the tears pour down his face as he slurped down another portion.

Ayame then looked to the three, smiling brightly at the expression on their face. "Are you enjoying your meal?" Ayame asked.

"Delicious!" They all three yelled out.

"Glad you like it." She smiled. She then ended up staring at Ishi, something coming to mind. "Hey? Have we met before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before…" Ayame asked.

Ishi began to sweat at that, and as quickly as Ayame asked, Ishi responded, making sure to disguise his voice. "Um? No… Um this first I've been your bar. Sorry."

Ayame would have pressed further, but was called by her father to help him in the back.

"That was close." Ishi stated.

"Let me guess, you know that girl, and didn't want her to see you as a girl, right?" Akamaru stated with smile, slurping up some ramen into his mouth.

"Yeah, you could say that." Ishi stated, returning to his meal.

The three enjoyed there meal, and even ordered seconds, though they had to pay for the extra.

* * *

A little time later, the three returned to the monastery, fully satisfied with their meal. "I have to admit kit that was actually pretty good. Good job!" Kiba complimented.

"Yeah, wish could hang out with guys. But I way busy for that…" Ishi stated.

"Hey, when you reach 2nd seat, you could hang out with us more often." Akamaru stated.

"Yeah, I guess that would be cool. You know, for a fox, you're not so bad." Kiba grumbled.

"What you mean for a fox, Dog-breath?" Ishi yelled.

"Who you calling Dog-breath, Ass-face?" Kiba yelled.

"You heard, Flea-bag!" Ishi yelled.

"Oh Yea, Moron!" Kiba retorted.

"Ok, ok. Settle down, both of you. We don't want to wake everyone up." Akamaru interrupted. "Good luck with studying, Ishi, we'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and try to take a break every now and then."

"Ok, later guys." Ishi happily stated.

* * *

Ishi was really hard at work one night. The day of the test was tomorrow. He almost has speaking down, and reading he was able to catch on to real quickly. The one problem he was facing was coming up with a good form and name for himself. It wouldn't be so hard to think of something like this, but this form, as Jiraiya had stated, is the form that the people will recognize and remember. In other words, he wanted this form to be special, and natural to him. Something that says it's him, and what he is.

Ishi stretched out, deciding to take another break for the night, and sneak another reading session with Jiraiya's books. Looking through all of the books containing Jiraiya's various Ichi series, Ishi had decided he was bored with reading the series, and started a search for something different. He kept looking until he spotted a book in the back. It had no cover, and had years of dust, but the title was what caught Ishi's attention. "The Tales of the Gutsy Ninja. Hm, interesting." Ishi said out load.

Ishi was reading the story, and soon spent the night enthralled with it. It was quite a riveting tale full of action and adventure, a hero who never gives up even in tough times and thriving to bring the world to peace, a villain trying to throw the world into chaos and war, and a bunch of other things that made it so great. Throughout the story, Ishi realized that the hero was exactly like how he wished to be. It was then that a thought of inspiration struck him; he now knew what his form and name were going to be.

* * *

The end of the month had finally come, and it was time for Ishi's judgment. Jiraiya had asked him if he had developed a form and a name yet, and Ishi stated he wanted to save it till the end of the test. Jiraiya agreed.

The first thing Jiraiya tested was his ability to speak, and though Ishi had stuttered sometimes, or mispronounced a word or two, he passed with a minimum score. Next was his reading and writing. He did excellent with the reading portion, but he almost flunked his writing portion.

This was it; the final test was for his human form. Ishi approached the center of the Monastery, all of the students watching, most of them hoping he would fail, while Kiba and Akamaru cheered him on.

"Come on kit! You can pass!" Akamaru yelled out.

"If you flunk this after all our hard work, I'm going to kick you ass!" Kiba threatened.

"Alright kit. It is time. Show me the fruits of your labor." Jiraiya dramatically stated.

"Here goes." Taking great focus, Ishi visualized his new form in his mind, and then slapped his paws together. "Transform!" a puff of smoke covered his area.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed a young man with blonde spiky hair, sapphire blue eyes, whisker-like scars on his cheeks, and tan skin. He was wearing an orange and black sleeveless jacket, a white clothed shirt underneath with sleeves covering his arms, an orange pair of pants, and finally a pair of blue sandals.

"Very unique, quite impressive. And now, your name please." Jiraiya stated, truly impressed.

"My name is…" Ishi then took a stance to show off his victory. "Naruto Uzumaki!"

The disciples started laughing. "Naruto Uzumaki? As in swirling fishcake?" One commented.

Jiraiya's eyes widened when he heard the name. "Did you just say Naruto? Where did you hear that name Ishi?" he asked.

"Well, Naruto was the name of a character in this really good book I read. After I read the book, I found that I really wanted to be like the character in the book. I got the name Uzumaki after looking up what Naruto means, as in Maelstrom, and so I thought 'Swirling Maelstrom' sounds like me and the person I want to be. Is it alright if I use that name master sage?" Ishi asked.

Jiraiya pondered it for a second, and then a smile graced his lips. "Naruto, huh? Then Naruto it is. From this day forth, you are no longer Ishi no Kitsune. From this day forth, you are 'Naruto Uzumaki!' Also, from this day forth, you are hereby my 3rd seat disciple." He finished with a dramatic pose.

The newly named Naruto began to jump up and down in joy, truly excited about the news.

The other disciples were not as happy about this. "But Sensei. Why a third seat disciple? He's just a beginner."

"True as that may be. But last I remember he defeated a 7th, 5th, and 3rd seat disciple, so I find that to be a worthy position for him to start at. Unless you guy's want me to place him at a lower position and demote all of you to an even lower rank than his?" All of the disciples changed their mood after hearing that. "Then it's decided. This will be your name, and your human form."

"You had me worried for a second there Sage… err I mean Sensei. I was worried I would have to resort to using the other form I had planned out." Naruto stated.

"Other form?" Jiraiya asked.

"Here, let me show you! Transform." In a puff of smoke, it cleared to reveal the other form to be a naked version of the female form he did earlier. "What do you think Sensei?" Naruto asked in a sensual voice.

Instantly, all of the disciples, including Kiba and Akamaru, blanched back and fainted to the ground as blood began to pour from their nostrils.

Jiraiya on the other hand, was perfectly fine except for the blood coming down his nose, and the perverted smile. "Oh man. If I'm dreaming, please don't wake me up. I think I'm going to enjoy teaching you kid. Heh ha!"

**End of Chapter 4**

* * *

**Now that I finally brought Naruto into this story, we can begin the real chunk of this story. Oi Vey.**

**Please do review.**

**Signed,**

**Mr. Nobody**


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